Utrecht ideal final Europa League visitors for Celtic?
Utrecht goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas had a disappointing spell with Celtic
- Published
Europa League, Celtic v Utrecht
Venue: Celtic Park, Glasgow Date: Thursday, 29 January Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio Scotland; live text coverage on BBC Sport website & app.
Celtic would have struggled to handpick a better final fixture than Utrecht at home, knowing they will probably need a victory to lengthen their Europa League campaign.
Utrecht are in bad shape, and not just in this competition, from which they have already been eliminated.
They sit third from bottom in the Europa League table and are one of three sides yet to register a victory, having collected just one point from their seven games, although that did come against Portuguese league leaders Porto.
Having finished fourth domestically last season, this time they wallow in 11th place, seven points adrift of the final Eredivisie European play-off place.
Ron Jans' men have lost their past five matches in all competition, including last week at home to Genk on matchday seven.
They also went out of the Dutch Cup at the start of the month while struggling to find any rhythm in the league.
Former Aberdeen loanee Jesper Karlsson made his Utrecht debut from the start against Sparta Rotterdam at the weekend as they lost again, but the Swede, who has joined from Bologna, is not eligible for their trip to Glasgow.
Fellow forward Angel Alarcon, who has arrived on loan from Porto, is in the same position on the sidelines.
Former Celtic goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas is their number one, but the Greek's understudy, Dutchman Michael Brouwer, may get the nod for this one.
Former Celta Vigo winger Miguel Rodriguez and on-loan Lorient forward Yoann Catheline, who played with Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike in the France Under-20 side, are probably the main dangers to Martin O'Neill's men.
This will mark the third time the sides have met, after two games in 2010 when the Dutch side recovered from a 2-0 first-leg loss at Celtic Park to move through the qualifiers of this competition 4-2 on aggregate and they will be looking to go out on a high.
However, if Celtic have designs on a deep Europa League run, this is a game that should hold no fear for them.
Match statistics
Celtic sit 24th in the Europa League, the final spot that comes with it qualification for the knock-out stage play-offs, and are one point above Ludogorets Razgrad and two clear of five others.
Utrecht are third bottom of the 36 sides in the Europa League, with one point from seven games, and are already eliminated.
Only Go Ahead Eagles (132) have faced more shots in the Europa League this season than Celtic (123), with the Glasgow side facing 36 on matchday seven against Bologna – the joint-second most ever by a team in a game since 2009-10.
Utrecht are winless in 10 away major European matches, losing eight of them, since winning 4-0 against Zilina in October 2003 and have only netted two goals since.
Celtic are unbeaten in five outings, drawing the latest two 2-2 away to Bologna and Heart of Midlothian after three consecutive wins.
Utrecht have suffered five straight defeats, the latest 1-0 at home to Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie on Sunday, a result that leaves them 11th of the 18 teams.
Celtic dropped to third in the Scottish Premiership after Sunday's 2-2 draw with Hearts.
Celtic and Utrecht have met once before, with Utrecht progressing 4-2 on aggregate in the Europa League qualifying play-offs in 2010 after a 4-0 second-leg win in the Netherlands.
Celtic have won 10 and lost eight of their 20 matches against Dutch opposition, the latest being a 3-1 win away to Feynoord in the Europa League in November.
Celtic have won five and lost two of eight home games against Dutch opponents.
Iraq international Zidane Iqbal, fellow midfielder Victor Jensen and forward David Min remain sidelined for Utrecht.
However, the visiting squad includes former England Under-19 winger Adrian Blake and compatriot Derry Murkin, a defender.
- Published18 June 2023
