Celtic – Stuttgart

In Glasgow, fans will see goals from both teams

Celtic are having their worst season in five years. Misfortunes have chased the Scottish champions literally since the summer of last year. Indeed, the Glasgow club has become the outfit that failed to score a single goal in two matches against Kairat Almaty and let the Kazakh champions into the group stage of the Champions League. Following the disappointing results in the domestic championship, Celtic saw managerial resignations. The first to depart was Brendan Rodgers, who had been at the helm almost until the end of October 2025. He was replaced by Wilfried Nancy, who worked in Glasgow for only 33 days. After Rodgers' dismissal, Martin O'Neill led the team for a while. After Nancy's departure, the club's board persuaded the 73-year-old specialist to sign a full contract. Stuttgart, by contrast, does not have such problems. It has been almost three years since Sebastian Hoeneß took charge, under whose leadership the Swabians have experienced both ups and downs. Now Stuttgart is in good spirits. As of mid-February 2026 the team continues to compete in all three tournaments in which the season began. As holder of the German Cup, the team has reached the semi-finals; in the Bundesliga they are fighting for a place in the Champions League qualifying zone with good chances of success, and in the Europa League, certainly, they are aiming to progress to the Round of 16. Bookmakers have named the visitors as favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 2.12 on their victory. The latest managerial changes have benefited Celtic. After losing to Rangers and parting ways with Nancy, the Glasgow club has not lost in nine consecutive matches. Celtic managed to reach the Europa League playoff round only after winning in the last round of the group stage against the demotivated Utrecht. By the way, under the guidance of the current experienced coach Celtic have scored in all nine matches. Stuttgart progressed from the Europa League group stage with fewer problems, but did not reach the Round of 8. The Swabians take the tournament seriously and even won in the last round, which was already inconsequential. Stuttgart is rightly considered the favorite for the match, but is unlikely to avoid at least one goal in Glasgow.