Alex MacQuoid
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Celtic Park usually intimidates visiting sides, but this season it’s been anything but a fortress in Europe. Martin O’Neill’s men sit dead last in the 36-team League Phase table with zero points from three games, a stat that honestly feels almost unbelievable for a club of Celtic’s stature. Besiktas, by contrast, have been one of the more reliable mid-table performers in this format, sitting 8th with seven points and a goal difference that actually flatters Celtic’s by a wide margin. The bookmakers have noticed too. Despite home advantage, Besiktas are priced as clear favourites here, a rare thing at Celtic Park against a Turkish side.
There’s an odd wrinkle buried in the squad data worth flagging before kickoff. Celtic have racked up 12 goals across their last five matches in all competitions, more than Besiktas’s nine over the same stretch, yet somehow they’ve shipped nine goals in just three Europa League outings this term, the joint-worst defensive return in the whole competition. That gap between attacking output domestically and defensive collapse in Europe is the story of their campaign so far.
Keep an eye on Camilo Duran up top for Celtic. He’s contributed three goals and two assists in his last five appearances, by far the most productive attacking output in the squad right now. On the other side, Oh Hyeon-gyu has been Besiktas’s most clinical finisher lately with three goals and an assist in five games, and given how open Celtic have been defensively, he’ll fancy his chances of adding to that tally.
Hot stat: Celtic are the only team in the entire 36-club League Phase with three straight defeats and zero points, while Besiktas have avoided defeat in four of their last five matches across all competitions. That contrast says a lot about where confidence sits heading into this one.
| 🏆 Tournament: | UEFA Europa League 2026/27, League Phase |
| 🏟 Venue: | Celtic Park, Glasgow |
| 🗓️ Date: | 05.11.2026 |
| ⏰ Time: | 22:00 CEST |
Celtic vs Besiktas prediction
We’re leaning toward Besiktas here, not necessarily to stroll to victory, but to leave Glasgow unbeaten. Celtic’s home form in this competition has been genuinely alarming, conceding in bunches and showing little defensive organization against sides with any real quality up front. Besiktas aren’t world beaters, but they’re organized, they score goals regularly, and three points (or even a point) would keep their qualification hopes healthy. A Besiktas Double Chance bet, covering the draw and the win, feels like the smarter way to play a match where the underlying numbers favour the away side more than the raw scoreline might suggest.
Stylistically these two contrast a fair bit. Celtic have picked up 15 yellow cards across their last five matches to Besiktas’s nine, and they’ve also committed more fouls, 65 to 60. That discipline gap could matter if referees start cracking down early, especially with Celtic already chasing the game mentally given their position. On the ball, Celtic complete passes at roughly 87% accuracy compared to Besiktas’s 83%, so expect Celtic to dominate possession phases even if they can’t convert that control into clean sheets. Corners should run heavily toward the hosts too. Celtic averaged 41 corners across their last five matches against Besiktas’s 19, a huge gap that points to a high corner count once again here.
| 🔥Hot Tip: | Besiktas Double Chance (Draw or Win) & Over 2.5 Goals |
| ⚽Total Goals: | Over 2.5 |
| 💥Both Teams To Score: | Yes |
| 🎯Total Corners: | Over 9.5 |
Team Analysis
Celtic’s last five results read like a rollercoaster. They thrashed Hearts 7-1, then followed it with a battling 2-1 win over Hibernian, a 1-2 loss to Celta Vigo, a 2-2 draw with Dundee United, and most recently a 0-2 defeat to Falkirk. That Falkirk result is the one that should worry the home support most, a flat, toothless performance right before a European night where they desperately need points. In our preview of Hibernian vs Celtic we backed a comfortable Celtic win on the back of their superior quality, and the eventual 2-1 scoreline did land that call, even if the margin was tighter than the 3-0 we floated at the time.
Besiktas haven’t been flawless either, but the pattern is steadier. Their last five: a 3-2 win over Hoffenheim, a 0-2 loss at Trabzonspor, a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, a 2-0 win against Basaksehir, and most recently a 2-2 draw with Kasimpasa. That draw against Kasimpasa is the freshest data point and it’s a mixed bag, Besiktas created chances and scored twice away from home but couldn’t hold on for the win. In our preview of Kasimpasa vs Besiktas we leaned toward a tight away win with goals at both ends, and while BTTS did hit, the 2-2 scoreline means that specific prediction didn’t come off the way we hoped.
Most recent Head-to-Head Matches
Celtic and Besiktas don’t have any recent competitive meetings on record before this fixture. These two simply haven’t crossed paths often enough in recent seasons to build a meaningful head-to-head sample, so there’s no historical trend to lean on here.
🚨Check out our dedicated Celtic vs Besiktas stats page for more info.
Celtic. Source: Official Facebook
Pre-game odds and win probability: Besiktas the favourite
- Moneyline Celtic 3.20 | Besiktas 2.15
- Draw 3.75
The odds line up with what the table already tells us. Besiktas at roughly 2.15 reflects a side comfortably placed in the League Phase standings against a Celtic team sitting bottom with nothing to show for three matches. We think the market has this about right, maybe even slightly generous on Celtic given how porous their defense has looked. Backing Besiktas outright carries some risk against a desperate home crowd, which is exactly why the double chance line makes more sense to us as the smarter staking option.
Possible Starting Lineups
Celtic possible starting eleven
- GK: Sam Johnstone
- DF: Kieran Tierney, Liam Scales, Dane Murray, Colby Donovan
- MF: Callum McGregor, Mika Baur
- FW: Benjamin Nygren, Camilo Duran, Haissem Hassan, Callum Osmand
O’Neill looks set to stick with the 4-2-3-1 shape that’s carried his side’s last five fixtures. Johnstone gets the nod in goal purely on minutes played recently over Sinisalo, and the back four of Tierney, Scales, Murray and Donovan has been fairly settled. Up top, Duran’s goal involvement makes him the player to watch, with Nygren and Hassan expected to float around him in the attacking midfield band.
Besiktas possible starting eleven
- GK: Alexander Nübel
- DF: Ridvan Yilmaz, Tiago Djaló, Emmanuel Agbadou, Amir Murillo
- MF: Wilfred Ndidi, Salih Özcan
- FW: Junior Olaitan, Leandro Trossard, Ilhan Fakili, Oh Hyeon-gyu
Italiano also favours a 4-2-3-1 here, built around Ndidi and Özcan shielding the back four while Trossard and Olaitan supply the creativity behind Oh Hyeon-gyu. Nübel’s 16 saves across his last five appearances suggest he’s been kept busy, and given Celtic’s attacking numbers at home, that workload probably continues on Thursday night.
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Besiktas. Source: Official Facebook
TipsGG Match Prediction
Our staff lean Besiktas Double Chance here, with BTTS Yes and over 2.5 goals as the supporting bets. Celtic’s attack has the firepower to score against anyone right now, seven goals against Hearts proves that much, but their defense has leaked goals at a rate that’s hard to ignore against three straight League Phase opponents. Besiktas aren’t the most dominant side in this competition, but they’re steady enough, score consistently, and have shown they can grind results on the road. Honestly, a Celtic win wouldn’t shock us given the crowd and the occasion, but the smart money sits with Besiktas avoiding defeat and both sides finding the net in what should be an open, end-to-end affair at Celtic Park.
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