Lump on the score draw for Celtic in Vienna

With Hamburg topping Group C on ten points and Hapoel Tel-Aviv second on nine, their match tonight will decide which side goes through as group winners. It leaves the two disappointing also-rans, Celtic and Rapid Wien, to duke it out in a game for which the term dead rubber could quite easily have been invented.

But there are, as ever, positives to take for both punters and the football teams involved. First and foremost, a point for Celtic tonight will save them from the ignominy of finishing bottom of their group, while a win would complete a European record reading: won two, drawn two, lost two - not brilliant, but certainly no embarrassment. Conversely Rapid will see this as a chance to leapfrog their opponents in third and finish their European campaign on a rare highpoint.

As for the fans, as ever it'll be hard to find a Hoops supporter who won't be tuned into the game, regardless of it's seeming unimportance. As for neutrals, the least they can expect is a fair few goals. Rapid might be bottom of the group, but that didn't stop them from thrashing Hamburg 3-0 back in September, only to follow that promising start with a 5-1 defeat in Tel-Aviv, a 3-0 home humbling by the same side, a 2-0 loss in Hamburg, and a 1-1 draw with Celtic. Conclusion - the Austrians ship goals for fun.

Celtic, meanwhile, have been a tad more conservative in this competition, they've only scored four, and conceded the same - both tallies the least in their group. However, two of those goals were in their last Europa League game, a 2-0 victory over Hapoel, and they've certainly found their shooting boots in the SPL of late, netting nine in their last three games.

It all points to a potential goalfest this evening, meaning that odds of 3.6 for over 3.5 goals might be worth a look, while both teams to score is 1.7.

On to goalscorers, there's one man in form for Celtic, the man they call "gorgeous" Georgios Samaras. He's grabbed five goals in his last four games and has two in this competition already. The Greek striker is 8.0 to score first tonight and 3.35 to net at any time.

As for team news, the visitors are missing Lee Naylor and Paddy McCourt through injury, while Rapid are without former Luton midfielder Markus Heikkinen. Both sides are likely to hand starts to a few unfamiliar faces, with Willo Flood and Chris Killen in line for call-ups to Tony Mowbray's eleven. The game is live on ITV4, kick-off 6pm.

Do you agree with us? Will former City striker Samaras be the man to watch tonight? Can Celtic restore some pride? Let us know below...

Published: 17 Dec 2009 - Tags: Europa League, Georgios Samaras, Tony Mowbray