Celtic shall be hoping to continue their 17-match unbeaten streak on Thursday night when they attempt to earn a place in the Europa Conference League round of 16, hosting Bodo/Glimt.
The visitors head into this fixture in strong form themselves, and they did impress during their group games, which included a 6-1 victory over Roma.
Match preview
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Celtic have been in devastating form as of late, and they have not lost a single match since their fifth group game in the Europa League back in November against Bayern Leverkusen.
Since then the Hoops have gone 17 matches in a row without a defeat, and that is something that they shall be hoping to continue, especially after their impressive Scottish Cup performance at the weekend.
The club were able to knockout Raith Rovers with a 4-0 victory, which included goals from four separate players, showcasing the attacking qualities within the team.
In the Scottish Premiership, no team has scored more goals than the Hoops, while they have also conceded the least, and Joe Hart has managed to keep four clean sheets in his previous six outings.
Despite winning half of their group games in the Europa League, they were only able to finish third, which saw them transfer to this competition, but they shall now be hoping to progress further within the tournament.
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Bodo/Glimt are unbeaten in the Europa Conference League so far this season, having earned a second-placed finish in Group C with a trio of victories and draws, which is something that will have provided plenty of confidence to them.
However, it was in all of their away games that the Norwegian club were unable to earn three points, which could make the trip to Celtic Park a difficult one.
The club have been involved in several friendlies lately in order to keep themselves sharp while they await the start of the 2022 Eliteserien campaign, which will commence in April.
They managed to finish second in the league last season, only losing three times in the process, and the confidence within the squad is certainly there.
However, the lack of competitive matches as of late is something that could prove to be a negative factor for them, especially with Celtic being so sharp right now.
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Team News
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After another clean sheet at the weekend, Hart will be sure to retain his place in the starting lineup for the Hoops, while Karamoko Dembele could be nearing a return to the squad after playing for Celtic B.
Josip Juranovic is also expected to be fit enough to return to the team on Thursday after missing their previous two outings due to illness.
Amahl Pellegrino will be one of the main attacking threats for the visitors, and he can be expected to start on the left-wing, while Ola Solbakken should end up featuring on the right flank.
Despite links to the vacant Aberdeen job, Kjetil Knutsen will continue to lead Bodo/Glimt, and his preferred 4-3-3 formation should continue to be used in this fixture.
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; Ralston, Juranovic, Welsh, Scales; Rogic, Bitton, Hatate; Jota, Abada, Maeda
Bodo/Glimt possible starting lineup:
Khaikin; Sampsted, Moe, Lode, Konradsen; Saltnes, Berg, Fet; Pellegrino, Solbakken, Botheim
We say: Celtic 2-0 Bodo/Glimt
Celtic have been enjoying a terrific run as of late, and that is something that is unlikely to stop when playing in front of their own fans, as they will be looking to give themselves a strong advantage in this first leg.
Their dominant displays heading into this fixture should be enough to give them the victory here, especially since Bodo/Glimt have not played a competitive match since the group stage.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Celtic win with a probability of 50.13%. A draw had a probability of 26.9% and a win for Bodo/Glimt had a probability of 22.93%.
The most likely scoreline for a Celtic win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.29%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.23%) and 2-1 (8.93%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.47%), while for a Bodo/Glimt win it was 0-1 (8.71%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 1.6% likelihood.
