Hapoel aiming for a Europa win against Celtic

Hapoel Tel-Aviv boss Eli Guttman has said his side will be going for the win as ahead of the first part of Celtic's mission impossible at Parkhead tomorrow (Dec 2) night.

Although Hapoel only need a draw to progress to the knock-out stages of the Europa League, Guttman believes "game by game (Hapoel) play better with more confidence and we play quality football".

Celtic lost 2-1 in Israel in September and looking at the form book doesn't help. Saturday's 3-1 win against St Mirren may have been better than the previous two matches, but only because they were a 2-1 loss to Dundee United and a 3-3 draw with Falkirk.

Guttman was quoted by BBC Sport as saying: "Celtic, when they are playing at home, it's another story. We know it will be a very difficult game. We know all about Celtic. This is a big club with tradition.

"Basically Celtic is playing a team game and they have good players in every position. Of course, Aiden McGeady is a very good player, Barry Robson is a very good player, McDonald and Samaras - we know all of them and they are a very good team."

Niceties aside, Celtic have beaten AC Milan and Manchester United, among others, at Parkhead in recent years and Hapoel shouldn't be too much of a challenge. However, with the less-than-stellar performances this season, predicting the result is close to impossible.

Even if Celtic were to win, it may not (and probably wouldn't) be enough to progress to the next round as qualification requires a win at Rapid Vienna on December 17 combined with Hamburg losing both of their matches.

If the worst does happen, at least there's always next year...

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