Europa League
2025-10-23 - Celtic vs Sturm Graz
A Sports Betting Pick by ArmchairPunter
Football : Europe: Europa League
Venue: Celtic Park
Thursday 23rd October 2025, 2000hrs (GMT)
Celtic head into Matchday Three of the Europa League still searching for their first victory in this season’s competition after taking just one point from their opening two fixtures. A 1-1 draw away to Crvena Zvezda was followed by a disappointing 2-0 home defeat to Sporting Braga, leaving Brendan Rodgers’ side under early pressure to get their campaign back on track.
Domestically, Celtic’s form has also been patchy. Last weekend’s 2-0 loss away at Dundee extended a worrying run of results that has seen the Hoops collect just one win from their last five matches in all competitions — that solitary success being a narrow 3-2 victory over Motherwell at Celtic Park.
Confidence within the squad has dipped slightly, and the Glasgow outfit will be eager to produce a strong response in front of their home support on Thursday night.
Visitors Sturm Graz have made a somewhat inconsistent start to their own Europa League campaign, but they will travel to Scotland in decent spirits. Jürgen Säumel’s side opened with a 2-0 defeat away to Midtjylland before bouncing back on Matchday Two with a valuable 2-1 home win over Rangers.
That result lifted the Austrians into contention for this upcoming clash and they now have the opportunity to claim a second successive victory against Scottish opposition.
The visitors have shown resilience and attacking purpose in recent weeks, while Celtic’s defensive vulnerability and lack of end product in the final third have become recurring concerns. Rodgers will demand a reaction, but this could prove another tricky night for the Scottish champions if they fail to convert possession into goals.
The Betting Verdict
Celtic’s recent form offers little encouragement, while Sturm Graz have displayed enough quality to trouble them. The visitors may well do enough to avoid defeat in Glasgow.The Pick :
Celtic 1-1 Sturm Graz
