WILL Celtic live up to their billing as favourites against Molde on Thursday? Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) thinks not.
Molde v Celtic | Thursday 20:05 | BT Sport 2
Molde are one of a host of unfashionable sides this Europa League Thursday to be priced up too big. They join the queue with Gabala, Qarabag and Skenderbeu Korce and have to be supported here.
If you wiped away the team names and compared their European records this season there’s very little to separate them. True, Celtic did go one round further in the Champions League but an away goals loss to group-bound Dinamo Zagreb was cruel on the Norwegians. Are Malmo better than Dinamo Zagreb? Not much between them probably.
Molde have already won in Turkey in this group, have held Ajax and sit top of the table after two games. Celtic couldn’t beat Fenerbahce at home and have a very poor away record in Europe.
Add to this mixture the fact that ex-boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been transported back into the Molde hot-seat this week and you have additional motivation for the home players.
I’m not a fan of betting on games where new managers are involved but I see this as a positive for Molde. Solskjaer was hugely successful in his first tenure in charge and can inspire them on Thursday.
Best Bets
Molde v Celtic – Molde Draw No Bet (11/10 Skybet)
