Jake Pearson previews the second leg of Celtic's UEFA Europa League qualifier against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, selecting a best bet and score prediction.
Football betting tips: Europa League
1pt Both Teams To Score ‘NO’ at 19/10 (BetVictor)
Celtic arrive in the Netherlands in an enviable position, carrying a 2-0 aggregate lead over from the first-leg of their Europa League qualifier with AZ Alkmaar.
AZ may have had slightly more of the ball at Celtic Park, edging the possession stats 52% to 48%, but Celtic were dominant in plenty of other areas, peppering the Dutch side's goal with 12 attempts; seven on target.
It was another accomplished performance from the Bhoys’ new signing Kyogo Furuhashi, scoring the opener before playing a large part in the second.
That victory puts the Hoops on the verge of Europa League football, and though Angelos Postecoglou’s start to life as Celtic manager was far from ideal, that win, followed by a 6-0 thrashing of St Mirren at the weekend, means the side from Glasgow have now won their last six successive matches, scoring 24 goals.
AZ Alkmaar v Celtic (agg: 0-2)
Kick-off time: 19:15 BST, Thursday
TV channel: Premier Sports 1
AZ Alkmaar 6/5 | Draw 5/2 | Celtic 7/4
AZ Alkmaar have made a poor start to the season, losing their opening match in the Dutch Eredivisie, before succumbing to Celtic in Scotland.
Alkmaar were not without chances of their own at Celtic Park, and they will provide a threat back on home soil, but they are yet to score a goal this season and have it all to do as they look to qualify for the Europa League proper.
As the betting suggests, there isn’t a lot to separate these two sides, Alkmaar currently just shading favouritism, and there isn’t a huge amount of appeal in the 1X2 market.
While the goals have tended to flow in Celtic matches this season, the majority of them have been scored by Postecoglou’s men, and in fact Celtic have only conceded in one of their last five matches, keeping a clean sheet in 67% of Scottish Premier League matches this term.
That is something that has carried over from last term, when the Hoops managed shutouts in 19 of their 38 league matches, winning 42% of their games to nil.
Both Teams to Score landed in just 42% of Celtic’s league matches last season, and that figure is down to 33% this term, while both teams netted in just 53% of AZ's home matches in the Eredivisie last season.
Celtic are by no means a defensively solid unit, nor do Alkmaar generally tend to struggle for goals, but a price of 19/10 about BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE ‘NO’ is simply too big to ignore.
AZ Alkmaar v Celtic best bets and score prediction
- 1pt Both Teams To Score ‘NO’ at 19/10 (BetVictor)
Score prediction: AZ Alkmaar 0-0 Celtic (Sky Bet odds: 16/1)
Odds correct at 1630 BST (24/08/21)
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