Celtic vs Celta Vigo Prediction, Tips and Odds | Europa League

On the night Celtic beat Celta Vigo in December 2002, sending them through to the UEFA Cup last 16 on John Hartson's away goal at Estadio Balaidos, the man in the Celtic dugout was Martin O'Neill.

Twenty-four years on, O'Neill is back in that same dugout, Celta Vigo are back on the opposite side, and the stakes are similar: a European campaign with both teams searching for victory.

Both clubs arrive at Celtic Park on Thursday with two defeats from two in the Europa League league phase, sitting 33rd and 28th respectively in the 36-team table.

Celtic recovered from back-to-back European losses with a statement result at the weekend, thrashing Hearts 7-1 to give themselves the kind of confidence boost this fixture demands.

Preview: Celtic vs Celta Vigo

That 7-1 dismantling of Hearts was the kind of performance Celtic needed after two dispiriting European nights this season: the 3-1 home defeat against Ferencvaros on matchday one and the 4-1 loss at Benfica a week ago were stark reminders that the gap between Celtic and continental-quality opposition remains a challenge.

Celtic have shipped seven goals in their two Europa League outings, a defensive frailty that Celta will look to exploit despite their own struggles.

O'Neill's 4-2-3-1 system showed signs of cohesion at the weekend, with Mika Baur and Callum McGregor controlling proceedings in a double pivot and Benjamin Nygren conducting the attack from an advanced-midfield position.

The Bhoys have accumulated 11 goals across their last five matches in all competitions, which speaks to genuine attacking potency, and the Celtic Park atmosphere on a European night gives them a genuine edge.

Celta arrive at Celtic Park carrying their own wounds from the Europa League, having taken nothing from their opening two fixtures despite showing enough quality to suggest they are better than their record in this competition indicates.

Claudio Giraldez's side lost to Omonia Nicosia on matchday one before leading Juventus in Turin on matchday two, only to concede the winning goal in stoppage time and leave with nothing.

That recurring inability to see games out is a pattern Giraldez himself acknowledged after Sunday's 2-1 victory over Alaves, telling reporters his side are “finding it very difficult to win” despite showing signs of growth in La Liga, where they sit eighth.

Giraldez is one of European football's more intriguing tactical minds, having fielded 55 different starting 11's in the 55 games that Celta played in 2025/26, but Thursday's must-win framing gives him less room for experimentation than usual.

With Iago Aspas, the talismanic captain, expected to return to the starting XI after coming on as a substitute at the weekend, Celta have a player capable of unsettling any defence.

Ferran Jutgla is Celta Vigo's joint-top scorer in La Liga with two goals, including scoring at the weekend against Alaves, and the striker represents another test for a Celtic backline that has conceded nine goals in its last five games across all competitions.

Team news: Celtic vs Celta Vigo

Celtic

Celtic's injury list is real but contained, and the players who matter most in O'Neill's system are available.

Dane Murray and Liam Scales are set to continue as the central defensive partnership after their assured performance in the Hearts win, with Kieran Tierney providing experience at left-back and Colby Donovan at right-back in the continued absence of Johnston.

Callum Osmand, who came off at half-time against Hearts with a hamstring concern, has been confirmed fit by O'Neill – the manager described the substitution as “more precautionary than anything else”.

With Carter-Vickers absent, Celtic's centre-back options are limited, and the Scales-Murray pairing will need to be considerably more resilient than the Trusty-Murray combination that conceded four times at Benfica a week ago.

Celtic predicted lineup vs Celta Vigo (4-2-3-1): Sinisalo; Donovan, Murray, Scales, Tierney; McGregor, Baur; Hassan, Nygren, Osmand; Duran

Celta Vigo

Celta's squad depth is being tested by an injury list that includes six absent players, the most significant being Borja Iglesias, who sustained a calf tear in training last week.

Iglesias was part of Spain's 2026 World Cup-winning squad and had started the season with genuine purpose before this setback interrupted his campaign.

Giraldez will likely bring Aspas back into the starting lineup after the skipper came off the bench in Sunday's win over Alaves, and the 34-year-old Galician forward represents one of Celta's primary attacking threats.

Without Starfelt at centre-back, Giraldez will likely continue with the three-man defence that earned victory at the weekend, with Sebastian Caceres, Yoel Lago and Javi Rodriguez forming the backline.

Celta Vigo predicted lineup vs Celtic (3-4-3): Radu; Caceres, Lago, Rodriguez; Rueda, Moriba, Febas, Carreira; Jutgla, Aspas, Swedberg

Head-to-head: Celtic vs Celta Vigo

The entire head-to-head record between Celtic and Celta Vigo was written across two legs of the 2002/03 UEFA Cup third round, and the connection between those matches and Thursday's game is more than historical.

Martin O'Neill managed Celtic through both of those ties, winning the first 1-0 at home before a John Hartson goal at Estadio Balaidos was enough for Celtic to progress on away goals after Celta won the second leg 2-1.

The irony is complete: the same manager, the same opponents, the same competition in its modern form, the same Celtic Park.

Those 2002 matches provide no reliable statistical basis for tips or predictions given the passage of time, but the narrative context is genuinely striking and worth acknowledging.

Celtic supporters will be aware that O'Neill went on to lead the club to the UEFA Cup final in Seville that same season, with the Celta win one of the stepping stones.

Our Celtic vs Celta Vigo prediction and tips

Odds correct as of Wednesday, 21 October 2026, 15:00 BST.