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Celtic v Sturm Graz Bet Builder Tips & Match Preview

Celtic v Sturm Graz Bet Builder Tips & Match Preview

Wednesday 22 October, 20254 min read
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Grant Heaney

Grant is a Glasgow-based sports betting analyst and keeps a close eye on all the goings-on in the fascinating world of Scottish football. While he has a strong passion for the SPFL, Grant is equally adept at crafting content on all of Europe’s major leagues, whether it be the Premier League or further afield. When not crunching the numbers and analysing the stats, Grant can often be found following his beloved Falkirk up and down the country.

Celtic will be targeting a morale-boosting victory when they play host to Sturm Graz in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Brendan Rodgers’ side have produced a string of underwhelming displays this season, the most recent of which saw them slump to a shock 2-0 defeat at Dundee on Sunday.

The Bhoys will now turn their attention towards the Europa League as they look to bounce back from a 2-0 loss at home to Braga on matchday two.

As for Sturm Graz, they will be targeting an Old Firm double after defeating Rangers 2-1 in their last Europa League outing.

These Celtic v Sturm Graz Betting Stats also offer further insight ahead of Thursday's clash at the Celtic Park.

These recommended Best Bet Builder Bookmakers are worth a look for the week's Europa League action.

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Celtic v Sturm Graz Best Bet Builder Bets
  • Celtic v Sturm Graz
  • Europa League
  • 20:00
4 Selections @ 45.00

Both Teams to Score @ 1.75

It would be fair to say that the defensive solidity that served Celtic so well during the early months of the season has evaporated of late. Brendan Rodgers’ side were involved in a 3-2 thriller during their last Scottish Premiership home game with Motherwell, while they also needed a late goal to edge out Kilmarnock 2-1 last month.

What’s more, there were goals at both ends during the Bhoys’ matchday one encounter away at Red Star Belgrade. As such, I think a strong enough case can be made for both teams to get on the scoresheet at Celtic Park on Thursday night.

Sturm Graz failed to keep a clean sheet when seeing off Rangers in their last Europa League outing, and Celtic will represent a sterner test, particularly at Parkhead. The visitors also looked defensively vulnerable when shipping three goals in their 4-3 victory away at BW Linz in the Austrian Bundesliga on Sunday.

Over 8.5 Corners @ 1.28

Games involving Celtic and high corner kick counts tend to go hand in hand, so over 8.5 flag kicks should be well within range in Glasgow on Thursday night. Celtic’s Scottish Premiership matches this season have produced an average in excess of 11 corners per game, mainly due to the regularity with which Brendan Rodgers’ side rack them up.

In fact, Celtic have averaged north of eight corners per game in the Scottish top-flight this term, so a case could be made for the hosts to cover the proposed over 8.5 line on their own here.

What’s more, each of Celtic’s opening two assignments in this season’s Europa League have seen both teams combine to deliver 12 match corners.

The fact that Sturm Graz’s matchday two clash with Rangers generated ten corners further strengthens the case for Thursday night’s showdown with the other half of the Old Firm to deliver a minimum of nine corners.

Sebastian Tounekti Over 0.5 Shot on Target @ 1.33

Look for Sebastian Tounekti to register a minimum of one shot on target on Thursday night. The Tunisian winger has drawn plenty of plaudits since signing for Celtic at the tail end of the summer transfer window. One of Tounekti’s notable attributes is his knack for cutting in from the left-hand side and getting shots in on goal. That was evident during Celtic’s last Europa League outing when hosting Braga, with Tounekti racking up three efforts, two of which hit the target. 

On top of that, the 23-year-old forward posted a shot count of five during Celtic’s 2-1 success at Kilmarnock last month, working the opposition goalkeeper once on that occasion.

With all that in mind, I think Tounekti looks well worthy of support to land at least one on-target effort against a Sturm Graz side that conceded ten shots on target when they went up against Rangers in their last Europa League outing.

Otar Kiteishvili Over 1.5 Shots @ 1.61

I was really impressed with the performance of Otar Kiteishvili during Sturm Graz’s 2-1 win over Rangers on matchday two. The Georgian playmaker was a constant threat and scored with one of his three efforts on goal. Kiteishvili has since notched in each of his subsequent two outings in the Austrian Bundesliga, meaning that he now boasts an impressive return of eight goals across his 11 appearances in all competitions this season. 

The 29-year-old operates in the number 10 role, so he often finds himself in the final third, making him an appealing option to attempt two or more shots on Thursday night. The fact that Kiteishvili has been on penalty kick duty this season only adds to the appeal of siding with this particular selection.

It’s also worth noting that Celtic have given up a sizeable 29 shots across their two outings in this season’s Europa League, further fuelling the case for 2+ efforts from Kiteishvili.

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📈 Celtic v Sturm Graz Form & Tactics

Celtic have been well below par this term, with Sunday’s 2-0 loss away at Dundee the latest in an ever-growing list of abject showings from the Scottish champions this season. While that was Celtic’s first domestic defeat of the campaign, they have failed to take top honours from three of their opening eight league games of the season and now find themselves five points behind table-topping Hearts.

Brendan Rodgers’ side have looked shaky at the back in recent weeks, conceding exactly two goals in each of their last three matches across all competitions. It’s also worth noting that the Hoops failed to hit the back of the net in two of those three contests. 

Despite Celtic’s struggles this term, they continue to deliver high team corner totals, with Rodgers' side averaging north of eight flag kicks per 90 in this season’s Scottish Premiership. It’s also worth noting that Celtic have earned a combined total of 22 corners across their last two continental contests at home.

Sturm Graz will arrive in Glasgow in high spirits, given that they have won six of their last seven matches in all competitions. That impressive sequence has coincided with the Blacks winning each of their last four matches in the Austrian Bundesliga - a return that has them sitting three points clear at the top of the table having played a game fewer than the chasing pack.

After kicking off their Europa League campaign with a disappointing 2-0 loss away at FC Midtjylland, Sturm Graz bounced back with a 2-1 win over Rangers on matchday two.

Sturm Graz’s Austrian Bundesliga matches this season have averaged a sizable 5.23 cards per game, not to mention five cards were flashed during their aforementioned 2-0 loss to Midtjylland in Denmark.


📔 Celtic v Sturm Graz Formation & Team News

Despite Celtic’s sluggish start to the season, it would come as a huge surprise if Brendan Rodgers went with anything other than his tried and trusted 4-3-3 formation.  

The Celtic boss could bring Alistair Johnston back into the team on Thursday night after the right-back returned to training following a spell on the sidelines. Question marks remain over the fitness of key forward Daizen Maeda who missed out at Dundee on Sunday with a hamstring injury.  

Long-term absentee Jota will definitely miss out for the hosts while Callum Osmand, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and Shin Yamada were all left out of Celtic’s Europa League squad.

As was the case against Rangers on matchday two, Sturm Graz are again expected to line up with a 4-2-3-1 formation. 

Sturm Graz boss Jurgen Samuel may have no choice but to change his goalkeeper on Thursday night after Oliver Christensen was forced off during Sunday’s 4-3 win over BW Linz. The Blacks boss will definitely be without injured duo Arjan Malic and Daniil Khudyako while forward Belmin Beganovic is a doubt after failing to make the matchday squad last weekend.


Football Predictions at Andy's Bet Club

There are plenty more Football Betting Tips, including Europa League Predictions, for this week's action on Andy's Bet Club.

We've got you covered for the week's action, with Both Teams to Score Tips, a Europa League Acca, Go Ahead Eagles v Aston Villa Tips, Brann v Rangers Tips, as well as Nottingham Forest v Porto Betting Predictions.

Amongst the best bonuses of the weekend are the Paddy Power Sign Up Offer, bet365 Sign Up Offer, and the SBK Sign Up Offer. There's a full list of the Best Free Bet Offers on-site too, as well as the Best Odds Boosts.



* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.

* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.


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