Celtic vs Besiktas

Celtic vs Besiktas Preview

Celtic Park on a European night is still one of football’s great atmospheres — the noise, the flags, the sense that anything can happen under the floodlights. But right now, Celtic are in genuine crisis, and Thursday’s visit of Besiktas feels less like a occasion and more like a crossroads. Martin O’Neill’s side are rooted to the bottom of the Europa League table with zero points from three games, having conceded nine goals and scored just three. If that wasn’t bad enough, they come into this fixture off the back of a 2-0 home defeat to Falkirk in the Scottish Premiership. This is a club that started the campaign by blowing a 4-0 aggregate lead against LASK to miss out on Champions League football, and the freefall has not stopped since.

The stakes here could not be much higher for O’Neill personally. Six defeats in the last ten games across all competitions tells you everything you need to know about the direction of travel. Celtic need points on the board desperately — not just to keep European progression alive, but to stop the temperature rising any further in the dugout. A win would go some way to steadying the ship. Another defeat, especially at home, and the questions around O’Neill’s future will get very loud very quickly.

Besiktas arrive in decent European shape, unbeaten through three matchday fixtures with seven points on the board. Vincenzo Italiano has his side playing with real attacking intent — they’ve scored nine times in three Europa League outings, including a stunning 4-1 demolition of Marseille on matchday one. On paper, they are exactly the type of team Celtic do not want to face right now. The Bhoys need a big performance. Whether they have one in them is the real question.

Celtic vs Besiktas Form

Celtic’s form is genuinely alarming. Six defeats from their last ten competitive matches, with only three wins to speak of — and the wins have come against sides nowhere near the level of a Besiktas. Their Europa League record reads three played, three lost, nine goals conceded, three scored. That goal difference is not a blip, it’s a pattern. Celtic are leaking goals at an alarming rate on the European stage, and while individual errors have played a part, the structural problems at the back are deeper than that. They were handed a 2-0 defeat by Falkirk on Sunday, which in the context of Celtic’s season is almost a microcosm of how far things have slipped.

Besiktas are not without their own inconsistencies, particularly domestically. In the Turkish Super Lig over their last five matches, they have managed two wins, two defeats and a draw, which suggests they are a side capable of dropping their level when the intensity drops. Crucially though, those dropped points have come away from home. At home, Besiktas have been far more reliable, but Thursday sees them travel to Glasgow. They’ve won just four of nine away games across all competitions this season. The road form is a genuine weakness you cannot ignore.

The contrast in European form between these two sides is stark. Besiktas have scored nine in three games — exactly the same number Celtic have conceded. Celtic have scored three — the same number Besiktas have conceded. If you’re looking for a team flying in this competition and a team drowning in it, this fixture provides both in neat, painful clarity. Celtic fans will be hoping that home advantage and a point-to-prove mentality can drag something out of their side, but the numbers do not make comfortable reading.

Celtic vs Besiktas Head to Head

These two clubs do not have a long history in European competition against each other, which means there is limited historical data to lean on. What we do know is that Celtic at home in European football has historically been a formidable proposition when the team is performing, with the crowd acting as a genuine twelfth man. The problem is that Celtic are not performing right now, and the raucous atmosphere that once intimidated visiting sides can just as easily turn when things are going wrong on the pitch. A frustrated Celtic Park is a very different beast to a bouncing one.

Besiktas are a club accustomed to navigating hostile European away days. Turkish clubs competing regularly in UEFA competition develop a certain resilience on the road, even if Italiano’s side have not been at their best away from the Vodafone Park this season. There is no obvious historical pattern here that massively shifts the picture either way, so we go largely on current form and context — both of which point in the same direction.

Celtic vs Besiktas Lineups

Celtic have injury concerns to deal with ahead of this one, with Alistair Johnston and Yang Hyun-Jun both sidelined. Beyond those two, the rest of the squad should be available, which gives O’Neill options — though the form of several first-team regulars means options might not be the relief it sounds. After the Falkirk defeat, expect changes. Kasper Hogh, Sebastian Tounekti and Benjamin Nygren could all come into the starting lineup, with O’Neill potentially turning to some fresher legs in the hope of a reaction. The expected line-up reads: Johnstone; Donovan, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney; Baur, McGregor; Duran, Nygren, Tounekti; Hogh.

Besiktas arrive with their own absentees. Orkun Kokcu and Fabio Miretti are both injured and will miss the trip to Glasgow, while Umit Akdag serves a suspension following his red card in the draw with Crystal Palace. Those are meaningful losses — Kokcu in particular is a player who brings quality in tight spaces. However, Besiktas still have plenty of firepower. Dusan Vlahovic leads the line and is their top scorer in the Super Lig with seven goals this season, even if he is still searching for his first in European competition this campaign. Leandro Trossard operating behind him gives Besiktas genuine threat. The expected XI: Nubel; Murillo, Agbadou, Topcu, Yilmaz; Cerny, Olaitan, Ozcan, Ndidi, Trossard; Vlahovic.

Celtic vs Besiktas Tactics

Celtic under O’Neill have tried to play on the front foot domestically, but their European outings have exposed a back four that is desperately vulnerable to pace and direct running. Against higher-quality opposition, the gaps between the lines have been punished repeatedly, and Besiktas have the personnel to do exactly that. Vlahovic drops deep to link play, Trossard drifts into pockets, and the wide runners behind the ball give Italiano’s side multiple angles of attack. Celtic will likely look to press high and try to suffocate the game early, using the crowd to build momentum — but if Besiktas absorb that and hit on the counter, it could get ugly. Celtic’s shape when out of possession has been too open at times this season, leaving Carter-Vickers and Scales exposed in one-on-ones.

Italiano will set Besiktas up to play with a good tempo in transition. The Yokohama-born tactician is a coach who likes his sides to be compact defensively but devastating going forward, and the firepower available to him even with the absentees suggests Besiktas will look to get the ball forward quickly and use Vlahovic as a focal point. Celtic will have to deal with deliveries into the box and runners from deep. If the midfield battle goes to Besiktas — and with Ndidi offering real physicality alongside Ozcan — Celtic could struggle to get a foothold. McGregor’s experience in the middle of the park will be crucial for the hosts if they are to have any chance of controlling the game.

Celtic vs Besiktas Prediction and Betting Tips

Celtic desperately need something from this game, but wanting it and getting it are two very different things. The defensive problems are not going to fix themselves overnight, and Besiktas arrive in good European form with a striker who is hungry for his first goal in this competition. O’Neill’s side may get something from the first half on the back of atmosphere and adrenaline, but over the course of 90 minutes, the visiting side’s quality feels like it should tell. Besiktas away form is a concern, but Celtic’s home record in Europe this season is also nothing to shout about, and the cumulative weight of evidence leans toward the Turkish side getting something from this fixture.

The tip here is Besiktas to win. Celtic’s defensive record in the Europa League is catastrophically poor — nine conceded in three games — and Besiktas have been ruthless in front of goal with nine scored in the same number of fixtures. Even with Kokcu missing, Italiano has more than enough going forward to cause serious problems against a Celtic back line that has been leaking regularly. The away win looks the play.