Celtic vs Real Betis

Celtic and Real Betis will square off in the final round of UEFA Europa League Group G fixtures at Celtic Park.

Celtic’s ‘all or nothing’ approach has seen none of their five Europa League Group G matches end as a draw (W2, L3), with a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen last time out sending the Scottish heavyweights into the Europa Conference League knock-outs. Regardless of the outcome, the ‘Bhoys’ will continue their continental journey in Europe’s third-tier competition. Though another home win would be a confidence booster heading into the winter break, Celtic’s perfectly balanced European home record against Spanish adversaries (W7, D2, L7) suggests this encounter could go either way. However, Ange Postecoglou’s men have gone unbeaten in their last five home outings in all competitions (W4, D1), keeping four clean sheets in the process, which means they could be hard to beat.

As for Real Betis, a run of three victories from their inaugural five Europa League fixtures (D1, L1) has been enough to catapult them to the competition’s knock-outs with a match to spare. The high-scoring theme has highlighted the Spaniard’s away Europa League games this season, with both of their previous Group G travels featuring precisely four match goals (W1, L1). With each of those contests producing one goal on or beyond the 90th minute, Betis could have another late drama on their hands. But Manuel Pellegrini’s men go into this fixture in high spirits after beating Barcelona 1-0 at Camp Nou over the weekend, extending their winning streak in all competitions to five. Moreover, ‘Los Verdiblancos’ boast an impressive 83% unbeaten ratio in away matches in the Europa League (W6, D4, L2), further underlining their status as pre-match favorites.