How are team who edged out Hibs leading Europa League table?

Midtjylland beat Hibernian en route to the Europa League

Europa League: Midtjylland v Celtic

Venue: MCH Arena, Herning Date: Thursday, 6 November Time: 17:45 GMT

Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio Scotland FM & Sounds, live text commentary on the BBC Sport website & app

Having started their European campaign by making heavy weather of dispatching Hibernian in the Europa League's second qualifying round, it is fair to describe Midtjylland as surprise leaders of the competition after three rounds of matches.

With respect to Hibs, who played well in those two games losing only to a stunning Junior Brumado bicycle kick with little more than a minute left of extra time at Easter Road, the Danes looked pretty ordinary in July.

They haven't looked back since though, losing once all season as they powered their way through the rest of the qualifiers, battering Fredrikstad 5-1 and KuPS 6-0, to reach the league stage.

A 1-1 home draw on Monday against domestic league leaders Aarhus keeps them tucked in two points behind, so the team Celtic will face on Thursday looks to have found a rhythm.

So what's changed? Well, the manager for a start.

Step forward former Hearts loanee Mike Tullberg (remember him?), brought in to replace Thomas Thomasberg, who can probably consider himself unfortunate to have been dismissed after an unbeaten start to the campaign.

But, having secured that Europa League place, he was sacked from his second spell in charge and replaced by the 39-year-old Tullberg, who came in from Borussia Dortmund, where he had spent six years with different age-group teams.

He was chosen for his ability to develop youngsters while also getting results, according to director of football Jacob Larsen.

His first game in charge was a 1-0 defeat at Nordsjaelland, their first and only reverse to date, after which Tullberg switched from a four to a three at the back, which has been in place since, apart from the opening Europa League win at home against Sturm Graz.

Midtjylland have won all but two of their 11 games since that loss, with the real statement victory coming at the City Ground as they helped ensure Ange Postecoglou's Nottingham Forest reign was a short one with a fabulous 3-2 win.

Franculino, Osorio & Simsir pose threat

Aside from the change of formation, there have been some personnel changes since the defeat of Hibs.

Young Senegalese centre-back Ousmane Diao and Korean forward Gue-Sung Cho have recovered from injury and illness, respectively, to regain their places, while Elias Olofsson, who came off the bench at Easter Road for what looked like an imminent penalty shoot-out, has kept his place in goal.

They have spent a bit of money as well. Croatian defender Martin Erlic came in from Bologna £4.4m, albeit he has been in and out of the XI.

Philip Billing joined for a similar fee from Bournemouth, having been on loan at Napoli in the second half of last season. He has started every game since signing, making one of the central midfield berths his own.

Add to that the existing stars, such as young attacking midfielders Dario Osorio and Aral Simsir, both of whom impressed and scored against Hibs, and the prolific Guinea-Bissau international Franculino, who has 17 goals in 24 appearances this season, and you begin to understand why Midtjylland occupy such a lofty position in the Europa League table.

They haven't lost at home since March, winning 13 of 17 since a 2-0 loss to Brondby, so Celtic's task is far from a simple one as they look to extend their winning streak under Martin O'Neill.