Europa League predictions: betting preview and free football tips

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for St Johnstone v Galatasaray and Celtic v Jablonec in the Europa League on Thursday

Where to watch

St Johnstone v Galatasaray
BBC Scotland, 7pm Thursday

Celtic v Jablonec
7.45pm Thursday

Best bets

Galatasaray
2pts 10-11 BoyleSports

Over 2.5 Celtic goals
2pts 5-4bet365, Betfair, Paddy Power

Preview

St Johnstone's 1-1 draw at Galatasaray in the first leg of their Europa League qualifier was an impressive result, but the Perth outfit still have their work cut out if they are to progress.

A draw in Istanbul should not be sniffed at, but the Turks allowed the game to slip when their Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera was sent off for a foul, which handed Saints the lead from the penalty spot in the 58th minute.

It took just two minutes for Gala to get back on terms and, with a full complement, the Turkish side should be confident of progressing, particularly as they dominated the first outing with 71 per cent of possession.

Having been dumped out of the Champions League by PSV Eindhoven, they cannot allow another chance to pass them by and they look a decent price to beat a Saints outfit who have drawn their two Scottish Premiership matches this season.

If St Johnstone are going to struggle, Celtic's progress should be much more serene.

Japanese signing Kyogo Furuhashi scored a hat-trick in their 6-0 win against Dundee at the weekend and he was also on target when they won their first leg 4-2 against Jablonec in the Czech Republic last week.

The Bhoys' first-leg win bodes well for Thursday's return encounter and given their opponents have already lost 3-0 to Mlada Boleslav and drawn 2-2 with Bohemians in the Czech top flight this terms, it may be worth chancing that Celtic score at least three times - a feat they have achieved in four of their last five competitive home matches.

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