Celtic know nothing but a win will do when they travel to Stadio Friuli to take on Udinese for their final match in Group I of the Europa League on Thursday night. The Scottish side are priced 5/1 in the match betting and we fancy Udinese are worth every inch their 8/13 on price, with the draw available at 13/5 with William Hill.
Udinese are currently second in Group I and only need a point on Thursday to progress to the knockout stages of the Europa League. Celtic though are third and if they win they would go level on points with Udinese and progress to the knockout stage by virtue of having the better of the head-to-head record with the Italian side.
Celtic's need to attack could play right into Udinese's hands and their Italian style of counter attacking. Udinese are also riding high in Serie A as they are joint top with Juventus after going unbeaten in their last nine home matches in all competitions.
Their home form has been hugely impressive and the prolific Antonio Di Natale clearly loves playing at the Stadio Friuli as he has now scored in every match there this season. Di Natale has 12 goals in 16 appearances this season and he looks a worthy favourite at 3/1 in the first goalscorer betting with WilliamHill.
It is defensively that Udinese have impressed as well as they have kept three clean sheets in their last four matches, while they have kept six clean sheets in their last eight at home. Hills go 19/20 for the Italian side to keep a clean sheet this week, while the Udinese win to nil offers a bit more value at 8/5.
Furthermore, four of their last five have involved under 2.5 goals and with the Italian style traditionally based on sound defence it could be worth a punt on under 2.5 goals at 10/11 in the betting. Celtic's last three matches have witnessed under 2.5 as they laboured to 1-0 wins over Dundee United and Hearts recently.
Neil Lennon's side might be pushing Rangers hard at the top of the SPL but they look to lack the quality to shock Udinese, particularly with Glenn Loovens, Adam Matthews and Joe Ledley out injured.
Gary Hooper has been in fine form this season though, scoring seven goals in his last eight matches, and he is a 15/2 punt to score first or a 9/4 shot to score anytime.
The two teams played out a 1-1 draw at Celtic Park earlier this season and both goals came from the penalty spot, with WilliamHill.com enhancing the price of a penalty to be scored on Thursday to 3/1.
The concern for Celtic will be the fact that they have never won in eight matches in Italy, while Udinese have won their last four home matches in this competition. The correct score of 2-0 to Udinese at 7/1 could be the way to go as the impressive Italian side look to put an end to Celtic's European dream.
Udinese v Celtic Form
Check the season's statistics for both Udinese and Celtic, plus the odds ahead of Thursday's match.
Udinese v Celtic Tips
Tip #1: Antonio Di Natale to score first @ 3/1 with WilliamHill.com
Tip #2: Udinese to win to nil @ 8/5 with WilliamHill.com
Tip #3: Under 2.5 goals @ 10/11 with WilliamHill.com
Match Odds
8/13 Udinese
13/5 Draw
5/1 Celtic
Correct Score Odds
6/1 Udinese 1-0
7/1 Udinese 2-0
15/2 Udinese 2-1
10/1 Draw 0-0
7/1 Draw 1-1
18/1 Draw 2-2
12/1 Celtic 1-0
28/1 Celtic 2-0
16/1 Celtic 2-1
First Goalscorer Odds
3/1 Antonio Di Natale
11/2 Antonio Floro Flores
11/2 Paulo Barreto
13/2 Gabriel Torje
15/2 Gary Hooper
15/2 Almen Abdi
15/2 Anthony Stokes
17/2 No Goalscorer
10/1 Georgios Samaras
10/1 Giampiero Pinzi
11/1 Kwadwo Asamoah
Odds supplied by WilliamHill.com, who provide a variety of betting markets, including live in-running betting, for all of the week's Europa League matches.
Posted: Wednesday, 14th December 2011
Author: Chris James
Tags: europa league, udinese, celtic, antonio di natale, william hill,
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