Football betting tips: Europa League
17:45 - Stuttgart vs Celtic
1.5pts BTTS and Over 2.5 goals at 10/11 (Coral, Ladbrokes)
0.5pt Celtic to win and BTTS at 10/1 (BetVictor)
20:00 - N Forest vs Fenerbache
2pts Lorenzo Lucca to score anytime at 6/4 (Coral, Ladbrokes)
Stuttgart vs Celtic (Agg: 4-1)
- Kick-off: Thursday, 17:45 GMT
- TV: TNT Sports 2
- Live odds, form and stats
Celtic have a mountain to climb in Stuttgart after they were beaten 4-1 at Celtic Park in the first leg. Some clinical finishing and a few errors were the difference on the night as both teams created a host of chances and more of the same can be expected this week.
That means BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE AND OVER 2.5 GOALS looks big at 10/11, especially with Over 2.5 goals priced at 2/5. Given how weak and vulnerable Stuttgart look in every game, I can't see there being three or more goals without Celtic, who need to go all out by the way, getting one of them.
Stuttgart have kept just three clean sheets in their last 13 in all competitions, while Celtic have scored in all of their last 13. This bet has landed in five of Stuttgart's last seven and in seven of Celtic's last eight matches as both are potent going forward but easy to get at.
The German side have seen this bet win in three of their four home Europa League games, with it winning in three of four Celtic away games in Europe too.
We'll also have a small bet on CELTIC TO WIN AND BTTS at a huge 10/1. It is a bit of a swing here but with goals expected and Stuttgart not needing to win or even draw to qualify, I see a scenario where Martin O'Neill's side edge to a 2-1 win but fall short of progressing.
They won away at Feyenoord 3-1 under O'Neill and raced into a 2-0 lead at Bologna before going down to 10 men and having to settle for a point, so have shown they are capable of putting up a strong away performance in Europe.
Nottingham Forest vs Fenerbache (Agg: 3-0)
- Kick-off: Thursday, 20:00 GMT
- TV: TNT Sports 1
- Live odds, form and stats
Nottingham Forest's first leg win over Fenerbache, in their very first game under Vitor Pereira, was one of the best and most dominant away displays we've seen from an English side at such a raucous away ground.
They won on every metric: winning the shot count 23-6, shots on target 7-2, big chances 4-1, xG 2.74-0.48 and it all resulted in a 3-0 demolition within 50 minutes to put the tie to bed.
They picked up where they left off against Liverpool too, as in the first 45 minutes they outshot the Reds 12-2, hit the target twice to Liverpool's zero and the xG battle 0.79-0.07. Forest did run out of steam in the second half but the signs under Pereira are so far very positive.
For this second leg, given the commanding lead, Forest's position in the Premier League table and a couple of big games coming up, we should expect some rotation. I'm hoping that means LORENZO LUCCA gets a start, making his TO SCORE ANYTIME price of 6/4 look huge.
Igor Jesus is the Europa League joint-top scorer, but he is one card away from a suspension so surely won't be risked. He also needs a rest ahead of two league games in five days, and Lucca is the next name in the pecking order.
He has one goal in 149 minutes since arriving from Napoli but has looked very dangerous and should get chances against a Fenerbache side who looked poor last week and are missing a host of key defensive starters, so much so they only have one centre-back available.
Odds correct at 10:55 GMT (25/02/26)
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