How to watch Celtic against Stuttgart in the Europa League on Thursday evening
Celtic will look to launch an unlikely comeback as they travel to Stuttgart to face the second leg of their Europa League knockout play-off second leg at MHP Arena.
The Hoops were beaten 4-1 in the first leg at Parkhead in a devastating away performance by the Bundesliga side and will face a difficult challenge to come back from the three-goal deficit – but one which manager Martin O’Neill and his side will retain faith they can overturn.
A place in the last 16 of the competition is up for grabs after both sides qualified in the top 24 for the knockout rounds, Celtic in 21st place while Stuttgart were 10 places higher and Rangers were eliminated in 32nd from 36 teams.
Stuttgart currently sit in fourth place in the Bundesliga and goals from Bilal El Khannouss, Jamie Leweling and Tiago Tomas secured victory at Celtic in the first leg – Benjamin Nygren had briefly levelled the game at 1-1 – with a crucial return tie for the Buoys in the offing on Thursday.
Is Stuttgart vs Celtic on TV? How to watch, live stream, kick-off time
Stuttgart vs Celtic kicks off at 17:45pm UK time on Thursday (February 26), which is 18:45pm for local viewers in Germany and for match-going fans of both sides.
The match is available to be watched on live TV in the UK via TNT Sports 2, with coverage starting from 17:00 GMT. It will also be available for live streaming via discovery+ through the TNT Sports package on the platform, which can also be purchased via the Amazon Prime Video app.
TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, and you can subscribe through discovery+, BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media. In-game highlights and goals will be uploaded to TNT Sports’ X account @footballontnt, while full highlights will be available via their YouTube channel later in the evening.
What O’Neill and McGregor said after first-leg defeat
Speaking after the first leg at Parkhead, Celtic boss O’Neill reflected on his side’s performance and conceded that there is a lot of work to be done in the return fixture in Stuttgart.
He told TNT Sports: “It’s a tough evening for us, obviously, 4-1 looks pretty poor. We were masters of our own downfall in many aspects. We conceded some very poor goals. I felt at 1-1 we were well and truly in the game, even at half-time, 2-1 down. It was a tough evening.”
On turning the tie around: “It’s a tough ask. We’re travelling over there, fourth in the Bundesliga, very capable of winning this competition, a good side. At some stage, Celtic will become a top-quality European team. That’s in the future. At some stage or other. But at this minute, our battles are elsewhere. Our focus now is totally on Sunday.”
Meanwhile, captain Callum McGregor defended goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel after boos from the home crowd: “Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has off nights. Kasper has been amazing since he came to the club, a really big part of the success, a big, big player in the dressing room for us as well. He’ll dust that down and go again. Everyone is all-in together. We win as a team, we lose as a team. There’s no blame or any of the players looking at him. He’s made so many big saves for us and he’ll bounce back, I’m sure.”