Preview: Feyenoord vs Celtic - prediction, team news, lineups

Feyenoord and Celtic, two teams struggling outside of the qualifying places in the league phase, are set to clash in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

The hosts are 29th in the league standings with just three points from four matches, while the visitors are 27th in the table with four points from their four fixtures.

Match preview

Feyenoord have experienced an extremely contrasting start to their European and domestic campaigns, with Robin van Persie’s side largely impressing in the Eredivisie but struggling for form in Europe.

De Stadionclub opened the campaign with a fantastic 2-1 victory over Fenerbahce in the first leg of their Champions League third qualifying round tie, securing a dramatic victory thanks to Anis Hadj Moussa’s 91st-minute winner.

While Feyenoord initially built on that triumph with a comfortable 2-0 victory on the opening day of the Eredivisie campaign, Van Persie’s side were humiliated 5-2 in the reverse fixture against Fenerbahce, relegating them to the Europa League.

Despite the heartbreak of their Champions League exit, Feyenoord superbly responded with four wins and a draw in their subsequent five league games, leaving De Stadionclub at the top of the standings, where they remained until matchday 12 thanks to a further four wins and only one loss.

Van Persie’s side once again failed to replicate their domestic form in Europe, losing 1-0 to Braga on matchday one of the Europa League, and that form has continued across their four league phase fixtures, managing only one win and three defeats to leave them 29th in the table and two points outside the top 24.

Their lacklustre form in the Europa League has now started to spill into their recent Eredivisie fixtures, with Van Persie’s side losing each of their last two league encounters and three of their last four, seeing them drop to second place and six points behind leaders PSV Eindhoven as a result.

Aiming to both end their current disappointing form and climb into the top 24 with just four games remaining to ensure their qualification, Feyenoord will be desperate to claim all three points against Celtic on Thursday.

Similarly to their hosts, the Bhoys are also in desperate need of results in this competition if they are to secure their place in the knockout rounds, as Celtic are currently 27th in the standings with four points from four games.

The Bhoys’ European difficulties have coincided with a turbulent opening to the 2025-26 season, including the resignation of Brendan Rodgers, fan protests and a series of unacceptable results and performances.

The unrest at Celtic Park initially started during the summer transfer window, with both fans and Rodgers voicing their frustrations at a disappointing lack of spending from the board, leading to fan protests due to concerns with how the club is being managed.

Results were largely unaffected at the beginning of the term, winning six and drawing five of their first 11 games across all competitions – although they were eliminated from the Champions League after a devastating penalty defeat to Kairat Almaty in the playoff round.

However, their results did eventually take a turn for the worse, including failing to win either of their first two Europa League matches with one draw and one loss, followed by back-to-back league defeats against Dundee and Hearts.

Rodgers resigned following those successive losses, with Martin O’Neill taking charge on an interim basis, and the returning Celtic manager has certainly improved performances and results during his brief time at the helm.

Celtic have now won four of their last five matches, including a 3-1 win over Rangers to book their place in the Scottish League Cup final, with the only exception being a 3-1 defeat to Midtjylland in the Europa League.

While talks continue regarding Celtic’s next permanent managerial appointment, with Columbus Crew boss Wilfried Nancy reportedly close to agreeing a deal, the club’s full focus will be on recording a potentially pivotal Europa League victory as they aim to strengthen their qualifying chances.

Feyenoord Europa League form:

Feyenoord form (all competitions):

Celtic Europa League form:

Celtic form (all competitions):

Team News

Feyenoord are potentially without a number of players for Thursday’s outing, with Jordan Bos, Justin Bijlow, Gernot Trauner, Givairo Read, Malcolm Jeng, Thomas Beelen, In-Beom Hwang, Jakub Moder and Cyle Larin all dealing with injury issues.

Feyenoord’s front four of Moussa, Sam Steijn, Leo Sauer and Ayase Ueda have been extremely productive in the Eredivisie thus far this season, and Van Persie will be hoping the attacking quartet can replicate their form in the Europa League against Celtic.

As for Celtic, Alistair Johnston, Callum Osmand, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Jota, Kelechi Iheanacho and Marcelo Saracchi are all doubts for Thursday’s outing due to injury problems.

Callum McGregor scored a 95th-minute winner for the Bhoys against St Mirren at the weekend, and the midfielder is expected to retain his place alongside Reo Hatate and Arne Engels in the middle of the park.

Further forward, Daizen Maeda and Sebastian Tounekti could keep their places in the team, while Johnny Kenny may drop out of the starting 11 for Yang Hyun-Jun.

Feyenoord possible starting lineup:

Wellenreuther; Nieuwkoop, Ahmedhodzic, Watanabe, Smal; Valente, Timber; Moussa, Steijn, Sauer; Ueda

Celtic possible starting lineup:

Schmeichel; Ralston, Trusty, Scales, Tierney; Engels, McGregor, Hatate; Hyun-Jun, Maeda, Tounekti

We say: Feyenoord 2-2 Celtic

Feyenoord are the favourites heading into the encounter, but with their struggles of late, Celtic will fancy their chances of securing a potentially vital away result.

The hosts do boast a strong attacking lineup and should be expected to cause Celtic problems, but Feyenoord have been defensively vulnerable in recent matches, conceding at least two goals in four of their last five.

With that in mind, we expect this one to be a tightly-fought encounter that ends in an entertaining score draw.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.