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Celje will host The New Saints at the Arena Z’dezele on Thursday night in final round of league phase matches in the 2024-25 UEFA Europa Conference League campaign. The hosts will be desperate to get a result to avoid elimination from the competition.
The Slovenian side have picked up four points so far with an emphatic 5-1 win over Istanbul Basaksehir and a thrilling 3-3 draw with Jagiellonia. However, they suffered their third loss in five Conference League games last week as they lost 2-0 to Pafos.
The hosts are currently one point off the playoff spots going into the final matchday and must win to stand a chance of advancing to the next round.
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The New Saints’ only win so far in the Conference League also came in the second round with a 2-0 win over Astana. The Welsh side have suffered defeats to Fiorentina, Djugarden, Shamrock Rovers and, most recently, Panathinaikos in the fifth round.
The visitors are 32nd in the Conference League standings and can only make the playoff stages with a win on Thursday.
Celje vs The New Saints Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Thursday will mark the first-ever meeting between both sides.
- Celje currently sit in fourth place in the Slovenian top flight with nine wins and four draws out of 18 games.
- The hosts are the highest-scoring team in PrvaLiga with 32 goals scored.
- The visitors are by far the best offensive team in the league with 45 goals scored in just 17 matches.
- Only six of the 36 teams in the Conference League have scored more in the competition than Celje’s 10 goals.
Celje vs The New Saints Prediction
Celje are favorites going into Thursday's game and will be given a slight boost by their superior goalscoring record in the tournament. Their impressive home record of only two losses across all competitions might prove vital in getting the hosts a result on Thursday.
The New Saints will have to put up their best performance to get all three points against the home side. They have struggled both in front of goal and on the road in Europe this season and could lose this one.
Prediction: Celje 3-1 The New Saints
Celje vs The New Saints Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Celje to win
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Nine of the Counts' last 11 home matches have produced more than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - TNS to concede first: YES (The visitors have conceded the first goal in all but one of their last eight matches)
