Reigning Scottish Premiership champions begin the defence of their crown on Monday night as they welcome Dundee to Celtic Park.
Celtic secured their fourth consecutive Premiership crown in dramatic fashion on the last day of the season.
Martin O’Neill’s men went into their final-day showdown with leaders Hearts a point behind the Jambos and even went a goal down, but three goals for the Hoops clinched them the title.
Many expected Dundee and in particular, manager Steven Pressley to struggle last season, but the ex-Rangers, Hearts and Celtic defender shut up his critics by finishing in a respectable eighth position in the Premiership table, eight points clear of the relegation zone.
The Dark Blues have already been in competitive action this campaign, as they qualified from their League Cup group after taking 10 points from their four matches (W3-D1-L0), setting up a tie with Aberdeen in a fortnight.
How the bookies view it: Celtic clear favourites
Unsurprisingly, Celtic come into this clash as clear favourites to make a winning start to their Premiership campaign, with bet365 pricing a home success at just 1/5.
Dundee are 9/1 outsiders to claim a surprise victory, whilst the draw is also unfancied at 13/2.
Head to head: Hoops dominance
This is a fixture that Celtic tend to dominate, with the Hoops unbeaten in each of their previous 25 meetings with Dundee at Celtic Park, winning 23 of them (W23-D2-L0)>
However, Dundee will take confidence from the fact they defeated Celtic at Dens Park back in October, their first success over the Parkhead club since May 2001.
Players to watch: Duran to do it on his debut
New signing Camilo Duran has looked sharp in pre-season for the Hoops, with the ex-Qarabag frontman scoring in each of Celtic’s last three friendlies.
The Colombian is just 4/6 at bet365 to score anytime, but combining that with a Celtic victory pays a more backable 4/5.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Celtic: Sinisalo, Donovan, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney, McGregor, McGowan, Bernardo, Forrest, Tounekti, Duran
Dundee: O’Hara, Wright, Astley, Donnelly, Halliday, Bevan, Finnigan, Reilly, Hamilton, Jones, Murray
Anything else catch the eye?
With Celtic understandably such short-priced favourites, it’s not always easy to find ways to get them on side.
They are far from watertight at the back, but do generally outscore their opponents which could lead to a high-scoring encounter.
Celtic to Win & Over 3.5 Goals landed in four of their last five Premiership matches of last season, and a repeat pays an appealing 11/10 at bet365.
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