Celtic will be the underdogs going into their Europa League match against Lazio in Rome on Thursday. That will always be the case for a Scottish side travelling to Italy.
However, a statistic about Lazio’s performances against British sides should give the Hoops plenty of hope about achieving a result against the Serie A side.
As revealed by BBC Sport, Lazio have not won any of their last 10 games against British sides in Europe. They have drawn four, and lost six. Their last win against a British side came in 2000, when they defeated Chelsea 2-1.
Poor run goes back almost 20 years
That is almost 20 years Lazio have gone without defeating a British team in Europe. That is a poor statistic, and hopefully Celtic can make that record continue for a while longer.
Neil Lennon’s side will have to perform well on the night. However, the current Celtic side should not fear any opponent that they face.
They are currently on a run of unprecedented domestic success. Winning nine domestic trophies in a row is unmatched in Scottish football. In Europe the Hoops are unbeaten after three Europa League group stage games.
Hoops have the players to achieve a positive result
They have the players who can cause Lazio problems in Rome. The likes of Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie are more than capable of helping the Hoops achieve what would be a notable result against Lazio.
A win in Rome would have to go down as one of the best results of Neil Lennon’s managerial career. It would be up there with the wins against Spartak Moscow and Barcelona.
Lazio’s poor record against British teams should give Celtic hope of winning in Italy. But so should the form that Celtic are currently in, and the standard of players that are in the Hoops side.
Celtic have a chance to all but clinch a place in the last 32 of the Europa League with a positive result in Italy, the statistics say that the Hoops have a great chance.
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