Brendan Rodgers’s men are looking to set the record straight when they visit the team responsible for their only defeat in their last nine matches
Celtic visit Valencia on Thursday looking to claw their way back into the Europa League last-32 tie.
The Spanish side got the better of Brendan Rodgers’s team in Glasgow last week, securing a 2-0 aggregate lead through Denis Cheryshev and Ruben Sobrino.
Celtic returned to winning ways at the weekend by beating Kilmarnock, but head to the Mestalla to take on the team responsible for their only defeat in the last nine games.
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TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game can be streamed live online on B/R Live.
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will be broadcast on BT Sport ESPN and streamed on BT Sport Live.
Squads & Team News
Rodrigo Moreno, Cristiano Piccini and Gabriel Paulista are all out injured for Los Che, while Geoffrey Kondogbia and Facundo Roncaglia are suspended for the second leg.
Santi Mina is available once again after missing last week’s clash in Glasgow.
Possible Valencia starting XI: Domenech; Wass, Garay, Diakhaby, Lato; Soler, Coquelin, Parejo, Cheryshev; Gameiro, Sobrino.
Kieran Tierney has returned to training but remains a doubt for this game having been kept out of the weekend’s win over Kilmarnock. Filip Benkovic, Olivier Ntcham and Tomas Rogic are all still out with injury.
Possible Celtic starting XI: Bain; Toljan, Simunovic, Boyata, Hayes; Brown, McGregor; Forrest, Christie, Sinclair; Burke.
Betting & Match Odds
Valencia are heavy favourites to win the second leg, as Bet365 price them at 8/13. Celtic, on the other hand, are 5/1 and a draw is 31/10.
Click here to see all of bet 365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
Match Preview
Celtic travel to Valencia looking to maintain their fight for a clean sweep of four trophies. The runaway Scottish Premiership leaders remain the dominant domestic force and look capable of going for another treble under Brendan Rodgers. However, the continental competition presents a much more arduous test.
After going down 2-0 at home last week, the Scottish side will need a phenomenal display to overcome Marcelino’s men, who are going through a dip in form after drawing their last three La Liga matches.
Rodgers will not push his side to go on a relentless attack, as he hopes they remain sensible and wait for their chances,
“It’ll be important to be defensively compact, tight and concentrated. And then when we have the ball we must look to create opportunities. The first goal will be very important,” he told reporters.
“An early goal isn’t very important, it’s more about not giving anything away. Our focus is on bringing our game. If we can get that first goal, that will give the team that extra confidence to go and get another.
“Last week was disappointing and we lost our way a little bit. After any disappointing performance we’ve always tried to analyse it openly and honestly. We had to be concentrated on Sunday to get a result and we eventually did that.
“That’s been the make-up of this group since I came. We can come back again tomorrow night. It’ll be a challenge. If I look at the game and ask if we have a chance – the answer is: Of course, we do. Even if it will be difficult.
“The result and how we performed in Sunday’s game will give us confidence but this is a different game and different level. What we need to ensure is that in the moments of pressure we can stay strong and stay compact. It’s a challenge for us, but we’re really looking forward to it.”
But Valencia boss Marcelino says his side will not take it easy on Celtic, despite their lead and away-goal advantage.
“Relaxation is always a bad idea. The team’s mentality has to that of winning, regardless of the previous result,” he said. “The utmost effort and concentration is the way to achieve a good result, which is what we want, and to get into the next round.
“Celtic are a team with a very clear way of playing. If they couldn’t make it effective in the first leg, then that was down to the organisation and efforts of Valencia. The moments in which we scored had a big impact on the game.
“We expected Celtic to be dangerous and tough away from home, and if they didn’t manage that then it was thanks to the Valencia players. A few details might change, but we know their coach and we don’t think that any big overhaul will be made in terms of their approach to the game.”