A TRIP to Copenhagen won't hold any fears for Celtic in the last 32 of the Europa League after topping a group that included Lazio, Rennes and Cluj.
The Hoops have been hugely impressive in Europe since dropping down from the Champions League qualifiers, with their only defeat coming in a dead rubber away to Cluj in Romania.
Epic home and away wins over Lazio secured their place in the last 32 and that feat has become even more impressive with the Roman giants making a genuine push for the Serie A title this season.
And that 2-1 victory in Rome was also a great night for our man Slips Tips, with all three of his recommended bets coming up that night.
Copenhagen clearly don't possess the same quality as Lazio and could only manage to finish second in a section that included Dynamo Kiev, Lugano and Malmo.
And they have also been rocked by the sale of striker Pieros Sotiriou, their top scorer this season, to Astana just 48 hours before facing the Hoops.
The Danish outfit have been in cold storage of late and returned from their winter break with a shock 1-0 loss to lowly Esbjerg on Friday night. That could give Celtic an edge at the Parken Stadium, with the Hoops heading into the first leg on the back of nine successive wins since their return from the SPFL sabbatical.
The latest came at Aberdeen on Sunday, with Neil Lennon's side showing great character to grind out at 2-1 victory as Storm Dennis raged. If they can show the same fighting spirit in Denmark then they can head back to Parkhead without suffering defeat.
How the bookies view it
Celtic are favourites at a best 69/50 with Marathonbet while the same firm price a Copenhagen win at 117/50. But the Hoops don't have a great away record in the Europa League outside of qualifiers, winning just two of their last 21 games.
Nine of those matches ended in draws and I wouldn't be surprised if this was another stalemate, which is priced 23/10 at Unibet. Backing Celtic to avoid defeat pays 17/25 with Marathonbet.
Head to head
The only previous meetings between Celtic and Copenhagen came in the 2006/07 Champions League group stage. The Hoops won 1-0 at Parkhead thanks to a Kenny Miller penalty before losing 3-1 at the Parken Stadium (below).
But that clash in Denmark was a dead rubber for Gordon Strachan's side as they had already secured their place in the last 16.
Players to watch
Hoops boss Lennon (below) has found a bit of joy with a 3-5-2 formation since returning from the winter break but I've a feeling he might revert to a 4-2-3-1 system for this one.
Striker Leigh Griffiths misses out due to a groin strain, with Ryan Christie the most likely candidate to come back in to bolster the midfield. Christie has seven goals to his name in Europe this season and catches my eye at 13/5 with Ladbrokes for a goal here. Christie is also a boosted 8/1 for first scorer at William Hill.
Veteran Dame N'Doye is coming to the end of his career but the Senegal striker is Copenhagen's record scorer and knows the way to goal. He's 13/5 with Paddy Power for anytime scorer and that looks decent value.
Anything else catch the eye?
Copenhagen are hardly great entertainers with none of their group stage matches treating fans to over two goals. Celtic have also drawn a blank away from home in their last three matches in the Europa League last 32, although they were up against superior sides in Inter Milan, Zenit and Valencia.
That suggests this is unlikely to be a thriller so try under 2.5 goals at 71/100 with Marathonbet. That's not great value but a bet on the score being level at half-time is better at 21/20 with Bet365.
This could take a while to heat up so backing the second period to be the highest-scoring half could also pay off at 6/5 with Paddy Power.
This UEFA Europa League match between FC Copenhagen and Celtic will be played on Feb 20, 2020 and kick off at 17:55. Check below for our tipsters best FC Copenhagen vs Celtic prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
