CELTIC continue to have a Jeykll and Hyde existence under Ange Postecoglou with results horrendous on the road but near perfect back at their Parkhead fortress.
The pain of last weekend's Premiership loss at Livingston, with a rare blank busting my coupon, was eased a little on Thursday as the Hoops eased past Raith Rovers at home to reach the League Cup semi-finals.
Now Postecouglou's men host Dundee United in the league looking to get their title bid back on track and it's a game they must win to avoid falling further adrift.
United sit a point above Celtic in the table after last weekend's win in the Dundee derby but head to Glasgow on the back of a disappointing 3-1 loss to Hibs in the League Cup.
The Tannadice side have already given champions Rangers a bloody nose this season but it would be a big surprise if they made it an Old Firm double in the east end of Glasgow.
However, Celtic have lacked a bit of verve since livewire Kyogo Furuhashi was sidelined and new signing Giorgos Giakoumakis has seen his debut delayed by injury too.
So Postecouglou's men could find it tough to break down Tam Courts' side if they fail to find an early breakthrough.
How the bookies view it
Celtic's impressive home form makes them heavy favourites for this one and they are a best 23/100 at Novibet. Dundee United are as big as 16/1 at William Hill while the stalemate pays 13/2 at Betway.
Recent head to head
It ended in a 0-0 Tannadice stalemate when these sides last met and those dropped points officially ended Celtic's nine-year reign as champions. But the Hoops bossed this fixture before that, winning nine matches in a row, and it ended 3-0 on United's last visit to Parkhead (below).
Players to watch
I cashed in by backing Jota for his first Celtic goal in midweek and the on-loan Benfica winger is 19/10 at McBookie to grab another here. My 14-1 scorer tip for new Hoops penalty taker Josip Juranovic failed to land at Livi but he remains overpriced at 7/1 with Unibet and that bet will eventually come up.
Dundee United's strikers have struggled for goals so far and their lofty league position is down to a good defensive record. But Peter Pawlett has four goals from midfield and is 10/1 at Unibet to add to that tally.
Anything else catch the eye?
Celtic have scored three or more in all of their home domestic games under Postecoglou so over 2.5 goals for the Hoops stands a chance at 9/10 with Betfair. They have also netted in the first half in all but one of those games so try backing Celtic to win both halves at 5/4 with SBK.
Backing corners failed to pay off for me in the cup clash with Raith and it was mainly because the game was killed off early and the Hoops played keep-ball for the last 40 minutes. You have to go quite high on the corner count to find decent odds so I'm going for under 10.5 match corners here at 11/10 with Unibet.
I'd expect United to sit back and try to frustrate Celtic and it could pay to back some of their players for a card. New boy Scott McMann has three yellows from seven games this term and is 5/2 at William Hill to be carded.
This Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Dundee United will be played on Sep 26, 2021 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Celtic vs Dundee United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
Ov 2.5 goals
Frustrating afternoon all round. Should have definitely been over 2.5 goals but the ball just wouldn’t go in. Woodwork three times and Ajeti missed from one yard