Sky Sports have confirmed some great news for Celtic heading into their Europa League match against FC Utrecht.
Celtic currently find themselves sitting at 24th in the Europa League table. No other team is level on points with the Hoops. That means that if they win their last game of the group phase, they are guaranteed to get into the knockout phase of the competition, just like they did in the Champions League last time.
Of course, winning an European tie, even at home, is easier said than done. Standing in Celtic’s way will be FC Utrecht.
FC Utrecht are not having a great season. They currently sit at 11th in the Eredivisie. And coming into this matchup, they have lost five straight games. So, Celtic will have to be considered the favourites on the night. At the same time, it does open up the window for an upset.
Celtic have been very good in Europe under O’Neill and actually could have won last week away against Bologna if not for Reo Hatate’s poor decision-making, which led to a red card and the Hoops going down to ten men. They must keep their disciplinary issues in check if they want to go through to the next round of the Europa League. And there is some positive news for them on the injury front.
Sky Sports confirm great news for Celtic before FC Utrecht match
A couple of players could be in contention to take on the Dutch side tonight. As reported by Sky Sports, Marcelo Saracchi and Kelechi Iheanacho were among those at Celtic training as the team prepared for the must-win Europa League game against Utrecht.
Both Iheanacho and Saracchi have had their injury troubles this season. The Nigerian striker was signed after the summer deadline day, after the club failed to land a centre-forward. The Uruguayan left-back is on loan from Boca Juniors.
Celtic could do with more depth and experience in both areas of the pitch. So, if they are available to take on FC Utrecht, it would be a major boost.