CELTIC are on the road on a Saturday night trip to Perth where they come up against managerless St Johnstone.
Brendan Rodgers' side were given their hardest game of the season last week in the Premier Sports Cup quarter final when Falkirk came to Glasgow and had a real go.
The Hoops probably paid the price for changing their entire back four and were twice behind before they brought on the big guns to smash the Bairns' resistance and eventually ease to a somewhat flattering 5-2 win.
But they maintained their 100 per cent record and you get the feeling there could be a few records broken this season by a Celtic team who look like they have seriously stepped up a level and have huge strength in depth.
They face a Saints side who axed Craig Levein last week and it looked like it would pay immediate dividends when they were 3-1 up in Dingwall with three minutes left only for Ross County to score twice and deny them the win.
That at least ended a four-game run of defeats and they will surely regard this as something of a free hit.
How the bookies view it: Celts massive favourites
Celtic will be the first name down on plenty of punters' accas and they are short as 1/6 in places, but there is a touch of 2/9 with William Hill.
Saints can be backed at 14/1 with Paddy Power and the draw is 6/1 with UniBet.
Recent head to heads: 14 in a row for Hoops
St Johnstone held Celtic to a goalless draw last season in Glasgow before losing the next two games both by a 3-1 scoreline.
Since a 2-1 win in 2016, Celtic have won on their last 14 visits to McDiarmid Park.
Players to watch: Maeda the man
Nicky Clark bagged a double in Dingwall last week. Those were his first goals of the campaign and the former Rangers striker is 11/2 to score anytime with bet365.
Daizen Maeda has been arguably Celtic's Player of the Season at this early stage and the Japanese winger had defenders despaiting of his high press. He can chip in with goals too and is 7/4 to score in Perth with bet365.
Predicted line-ups
Celtic will be without inspirational defender Cameron Carter-Vickers after he suffered a toe injury.
Saints are without injured duo Uche Ikpeazu and Sam McClelland.
St Johnstone: Sinclair, Raymond, Cameron, Sanders, Neilson, Holt, Clark, Wright, Smith, Sprangler, Kirk.
Celtic: Schmeichel, Johnston, Scales, Trusty, Taylor, McGregor, Engels, Hatate, Maeda, Kyogo, Kuhn.
Anything else catch the eye?
To get anything approaching value for a Celtic win, you need to look around and it might pay to back St Johnstone to score and Celtic to win – at a decent 21/10 with Boylesports, which paid off last week against Falkirk.
With no Carter-Vickers in the Celtic team, that weakens them significantly and replacement Auston Trusty looked slightly rusty last week.
St Johnstone are in the top half of the table for goals scored and will think attack is their best hope, having seen Falkirk's approach last week and netted three goals themselves last week in the Highlands.
However, Celtic simply have too much firepower all over the pitch and they have so many options from the bench too, it's hard not to see them scoring a few goals of their own.
Celtic to win and over 3.5 goals looks a very attractive shout at 8/5 with Boylesports.
This Scottish Premiership match between St Johnstone and Celtic will be played on Sep 28, 2024 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best St Johnstone vs Celtic prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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