Europa League Group A: Celtic hoping for home rule over Fenerbahce

The visitors have been involved in a recent downfall, having lost their domestic top spot after being toppled by rivals Besiktas and were surprisingly thumped in their opening European encounter against Molde. Despite their form, Meireles is confident of overcoming Celtic on their travels.

“Maybe Celtic do think it’s a good time to be playing us, I hope they do,” continued the Portugal international. “The result in the opening game was disappointing, but we are still very confident we can progress.

“We have some of the top players in Europe, there is never a good time to play us. I don’t expect Celtic to make it easy for us, but we are ready. Signing players like [Luis] Nani, [Robin] Van Persie and Lazar Markovic was a big injection of confidence for us over the summer.”

Hoops defender Dedryck Boyata faces familiar faces in former Manchester United duo Nani and Van Persie (7/4 and 5/4 respectively in the anytime scorer market) from his time with previous close rivals Manchester City, but claims his side are looking forward to making a statement.

“When I saw we had drawn Fenerbahce, Ajax and Molde, I was really happy as we knew we would be playing big games,” said Boyata. “Thursday is a big game, we all know it, and we are all looking forward to it. Thursday is a really big game and I want to play really well to make a statement.”

The Bhoys key attacking danger will again be Scotland international frontman Leigh Griffiths, with the feisty forward 6/1 to open proceedings on home soil, having already dispatched eight goals in all competitions this term.

Celtic will be without the suspended Emilio Izaguirre, following his sending off in the Netherlands, while Stefan Johansen may be in line for a recall. For the visitors, Van Persie has been used sparingly off the bench since arriving and could continue that way this time out, much to his annoyance.

Betting tip: Leigh Griffiths to score first at 6/1