The bizarre 38% Opta stat Celtic duo Benjamin Nygren and Reo Hatate share in the Europa League

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The Europa League is up next for Celtic as VfB Stuttgart travel to Parkhead for the big play-off tie.

Celtic have beaten the German’s before and fans will be hoping that a performance just like the one the Bhoys delivered against Bayern Munich last season will be produced this week.

Martin O’Neill will be hoping for a positive result to take to Germany as Celtic look to progress into the last 16 of the Europa League this season.

What a line-up this is? Would that have been possible?

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With Celtic no strangers to scoring goals in UEFA’s second-tier competition, it could come down to two players in Benjamin Nygren and Reo Hatate who both share a bizarre stat from Opta that may well surprise the Hoops support.

• READ MORE: Celtic icon Chris Sutton’s brutal Rangers verdict and makes bold Danny Rohl/Martin O’Neill comparison

Opta say Benjamin Nygren and Reo Hatate are Celtic’s best Europa League goal threats

Considering both players are having polar opposite seasons, this goal stat from Opta is really surprising for Celtic supporters.

According to the football stats site, both Nygren and Reo Hatate are each responsible for 38% of the goals Celtic have scored in the Europa League this season.

Considering Hatate has been miles off the pace and Nygren is having a stellar season in front of goal, this might well be a shock to the majority of the Parkhead support.

With Hatate coming under fire and his current performances being so poor domestically, could Martin O’Neill have a secret weapon at hand to get Celtic past Stuttgart at Parkhead?

Celtic’s results against VfB Stuttgart

Celtic famously faced VfB Stuttgart in that amazing run to the 2003 UEFA Cup final over 23 years ago now, ironically, under Martin O’Neill.

Here is how the Parkhead club fared against the Bundesliga side then:

• 20/02/2003: Celtic 3 v 1 VfB Stuttgart
• 27/02/2003: VfB Stuttgart 3 v 2 Celtic
  

Granted, Celtic had the likes of Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton and John Hartson in the ranks those days, but as fans have already seen under Martin O’Neill this season, anything is possible in a one-off game.