CELTIC have enjoyed a perfect start to the season and travel the short distance to Paisley to play in one of the more trickier Scottish Premiership venues against St Mirren.
The Hoops have played three competitive games – after an impressive pre-season where they beat both Manchester City and Chelsea – and hammered Kilmarnock and then bossed Hibs home and away in the league and the Premier Sports Cup.
However, it seems certain they will lose star midfielder Matt O'Riley to Brighton in a record transfer sale and the Parkhead board isn't exactly renowned for splashing out for financial like-for-like replacements.
But they are playing some excellent football at the moment and seem levels above anyone else in the country. albeit at a very early stage of the season.
St Mirren now have to give their full attention to the Premiership after a disappointing week which saw them crash out of their first European campaign for 37 years after a brave defeat at Brann and then a limp Premier Sports Cup exit at the hands of Dundee United.
Saints had a great season last term and are strong at home so this should be a real test for the champions.
How the bookies view it: Celtic are solid as ever
As always, Celtic are odds-on for a Premiership game although at 3/10 with bet365, they are perhaps not as short as they often are.
St Mirren can be backed at 9/1 with McBookie.com and the draw is 5/1 with Paddy Power.
Recent head to heads: Celtic are Saints' worst nightmare
The sides met five times last season in the league and Scottish Cup and Celtic won all five of them.
St Mirren did defeat them in Paisley under Ange Postecoglou the previous season though.
Players to watch: Idah go!
Saints will be looking for Toyosi Olusanya to step up here. He buzzes around and is a pest for defenders. He is 4/1 to score anytime with Ladbrokes.
Adam Idah finally completed his protracted £9 million move from Norwich City last week and with Kyogo Furuhashi a doubt with a shoulder injury, he should get plenty of chances. He is 11/10 to score anytime with Paddy Power.
Predicted line-ups:
St Mirren could hand a debut to on loan midfielder Killian Phillips after the Crystal Palace starlet had a spell at Aberdeen last season too.
Celtic have said they will have to manage Kyogo Furuhashi's shoulder issue on a game-by-game basis.
St Mirren: Balcombe, Fraser, Gogic, Taylori, Rooney, Smyth, Idowu, Brown, Ayunga, Mandron, Olusanya.
Celtic: Schmeichel, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor, McGregor, Bernardo, Hatate, Kuhn, Maeda, Idah.
Anything else catch the eye?
Celtic should have enough to get the points, but this will be a tough test and the call is for them to win by a one-goal margin at at a tempting 3/1 with bet365.
St Mirren have had a hectic start to the season with European ties in Norway and Iceland, but they've had a week of rest and getting back to work on the training pitch and should be rejuvenated by this.
Assuming Celtic lose Matt O'Riley, they will be weaker too.
This could be a tighter game than Celtic have been used to this season to because Saints are usually very well organised. Take a chance on the 13/8 for under 2.5 goals with McBookie.com.
Finally, St Mirren are 19/20 with 888Sport to win four or more corners and there are usually plenty on a tight pitch. They have scored twice in Europe at home from a corner and equalised in Norway from the same route so that's a weapon they will want to exploit.
This Scottish Premiership match between St Mirren and Celtic will be played on Aug 25, 2024 and kick off at 12:00. Check below for our tipsters best St Mirren vs Celtic prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
