Celtic head into their upcoming Europa League fixtures with their hopes of progressing to the knockout stage hanging by a thread.
The Hoops have picked up seven points from six league phase games, which has left them hanging on to 24th place in the standings.
That is the final position which secures a knockout round play-off spot, which cranks up the pressure on Celtic’s games against Bologna and Utrecht.
Read on as we look at the latest outright betting for the Europa League, before assessing Celtic’s chances of staying alive in the competition.
Europa League 2025/26 – Latest Betting
Bookies with lucrative sign-up offers on the BestBettingSites.co.uk comparison website rate Celtic as 66/1 shots to win the Europa League. The latest outright odds are as follows:
- Aston Villa – 7/2
- Roma – 6/1
- Porto – 7/1
- Real Betis – 8/1
- Nottingham Forest – 9/1
- Lyon – 10/1
- Bologna – 11/1
- Freiburg – 22/1
- Lille – 22/1
- Stuttgart – 22/1
- Fenerbahce – 25/1
- Braga – 25/1
- Celta Vigo – 25/1
- Midtjylland – 40/1
- Genk – 50/1
- Viktoria Plzen – 50/1
- Celtic – 66/1
- Panathinaikos – 66/1
- PAOK – 66/1
- Basel – 80/1
- Feyenoord – 80/1
- Brann – 80/1
- Young Boys – 80/1
- Dinamo Zagreb – 80/1
- Ferencvaros – 100/1
- Red Star Belgrade – 100/1
- Ludogorets – 125/1
- Go Ahead Eagles – 200/1
- Red Bull Salzburg – 250/1
- FCSB – 350/1
- Sturm Graz – 1000/1
- Maccabi Tel Aviv – 1000/1
- Utrecht – 1000/1
- Malmo – 1000/1
- Rangers – 1000/1
Europa League 2025/26 – Matchday 7 & 8 Fixtures
Matchday 7
Thursday, January 22
- Bologna vs Celtic
- Young Boys vs Lyon
- Viktoria Plzen vs Porto
- Fenerbahce vs Aston Villa
- Feyenoord vs Sturm Graz
- Malmo vs Red Star Belgrade
- PAOK vs Real Betis
- Freiburg vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
- Brann vs Midtjylland
- Roma vs Stuttgart
- Utrecht vs Genk
- Red Bull Salzburg vs Basel
- Ferencvaros vs Panathinaikos
- Dinamo Zagreb vs FCSB
- Nice vs Go Ahead Eagles
- Rangers vs Ludogorets
- Celta Vigo vs Lille
- Braga vs Nottingham Forest
Matchday 8
Thursday, January 29
- Aston Villa vs Red Bull Salzburg
- Celtic vs Utrecht
- Porto vs Rangers
- Basel vs Viktoria Plzen
- Midtjylland vs Dinamo Zagreb
- Red Star Belgrade vs Celta Viga
- FCSB vs Fenerbahce
- Go Ahead Eagles vs Braga
- Genk vs Malmo
- Lille vs Freiburg
- Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Bologna
- Nottingham Forest vs Ferencvaros
- Lyon vs PAOK
- Panathinaikos vs Roma
- Ludogorets vs Nice
- Real Betis vs Feyenoord
- Sturm Graz vs Brann
- Stuttgart vs Young Boys
Europa League 2025/26 – Celtic Bid to keep rolling under O’Neill
Celtic travel to Bologna on the back of three consecutive league victories and an unconvincing Scottish Cup win over Auchinleck Talbot at Rugby Park.
After Wilfried Nancy’s disastrous 33-day tenure as manager threatened to blow a hole in the club’s ambitions, Martin O’Neill returned again to steady the ship.
Bologna, who are currently eighth in Serie A, have been defeated just once in the Europa League this season. A draw on Thursday would not be the worst result for Celtic.
That would set them up nicely for their final league phase game at home to Utrecht. The Eredivisie club have collected just one point in the competition this term.
Ten points was enough to secure progression to the knockout round play-offs last season, so Celtic still have a little wiggle room to play with.
Celtic’s hopes of a victory in Italy are boosted by Bologna star Federico Bernardeschi’s absence. He recently suffered a fractured collarbone and is out until next month.
Bologna are well placed to reach the last-16 under manager Vincenzo Italiano. However, they head into Thursday’s clash on the back of a 2-1 home defeat against Fiorentina in Serie A.
Italiano was unhappy with the performance and demanded a reaction on Thursday, potentially ramping up the difficulty level for the Scottish Premiership champions.
However, the 3-1 victory at Feyenoord at the end of November highlighted O’Neill’s ability to get a tune out of his players in Europe.
Celtic made ten changes to his team for the Scottish Cup tie over the weekend, which should ensure his key players are ready to do themselves justice in Italy.
If the Hoops repeat the performance they delivered against Feyenoord, they are perfectly capable of returning home with at least one point on Thursday.
While the final game against Utrecht is not a foregone conclusion, it would be a surprise if Celtic failed to get over the line from that position.
Winning the Europa League is probably asking a little too much of a squad which needs reinforcements, but a run to the last-16 or quarter-finals should be achievable.
