I don’t think this Celtic side are playing well enough to claim a first leg lead against Stuttgart on Thursday night. Martin O’Neill’s men have been making heavy weather of their domestic fixtures in recent weeks, repeatedly relying on late goals - and even extra time on one occasion - to get over the line. That’s not sustainable, especially stepping back onto the European stage against stronger opposition. What’s more, Celtic failed to impress for large stretches of the league phase, notably losing two of their four home matches.

Stuttgart, in contrast, ended their league phase campaign strongly by winning four of their final five fixtures. The case for siding with the visitors is reinforced by the fact that they have lost just one of their last nine Bundesliga matches, winning three of their last four on the road, including a stunning 4-1 victory at Bayer Leverkusen. So, with all things considered, I think the German side look well worth backing on the double chance market in Glasgow on Thursday night.

I think this has the makings of being one of the more entertaining ties from this season’s set of Europa League play-off fixtures, with over 1.5 goals in Thursday night’s first leg looking well within reach. It would be fair to suggest that the strengths of both sides lie in attack, which should lend itself to an open, end-to-end encounter in Glasgow’s East End.

Moreover, each of Celtic’s eight league phase assignments delivered a minimum of two goals, with six of those contests breaking the over 2.5 goal barrier. It’s been a similar story in the Scottish Premiership this season, with 20 of the Hoops’ 26 top-flight fixtures yielding over 1.5 goals, including 11 of their last 12.

Stuttgart were also reliable on the over 1.5 goals front during the league phase, as all but one of their eight assignments generated two or more strikes. The fact that each of Stuttgart’s 11 Bundesliga away matches this season has produced over 1.5 goals only adds to the appeal of siding with this selection at Parkhead on Thursday night.

Callum McGregor has been one of my go-to Celtic players in the foul markets this season, and for good reason. The Celtic skipper committed at least one foul in six of his eight league phase appearances, conceding multiple free kicks in three of those outings. The 32-year-old has also been a regular offender in the Scottish Premiership this term, averaging 1.00 fouls per 90 minutes and overstepping the mark at least once in 10 of his 13 appearances at Celtic Park.

Typically deployed as the deepest of Celtic’s midfield three, McGregor is likely to be tasked with keeping close tabs on Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav. The German international represents one of Stuttgart’s biggest attacking threats, and he regularly gets close attention from his direct markers. That is underlined by the fact that Undav has drawn an average of 1.73 fouls per game in this season’s Europa League, making the aforementioned McGregor a prime candidate to be penalised at least once during Thursday night’s first leg.

Sebastian Tounekti has been one of Celtic’s standout performers in recent weeks. The Tunisian winger has shown on more than one occasion this season that he possesses a real knack for cutting in from the left and getting efforts away. He did so to telling effect at Kilmarnock on Sunday, giving Celtic a lifeline and helping set the wheels in motion for their comeback win.

Moreover, Tounekti is averaging 2.49 shots per game in the Scottish Premiership this season, racking up a combined total of seven efforts across his last two outings, four of which came as a second half substitute on Sunday. On the back of that display, I would expect Tounekti to start here, and he appeals to register 2+ shots, as he did at home to Braga during the league phase.

While Stuttgart are rightful favourites for this clash, they have been far from watertight at the back this season and are likely to give up opportunities on Thursday night. The fact that Sebastian Hoeness’ side have conceded an average north of 12 shots per game on their Europa League travels this term, only strengthens the case for Tounekti to try his luck at least twice.