CELTIC entertain Kilmarnock in the Viaplay Cup semi-final at Hampden just a week after the sides met at Parkhead.
The current League Cup holders have of course enjoying a near-perfect domestic season anyway, although they did get a jolt when they needed a late equaliser at Ibrox to maintain their nine-point lead at the top of the league against Rangers.
Ange Postecoglou's side will be backed by a massive support who will vastly outnumber those from Ayrshire on Saturday night and they are overwhelming good things to cruise into the final to play either Rangers or Aberdeen.
Killie will be hoping the addition of Kyle Lafferty after his huge ten-game ban will give them a boost, but the former Rangers striker is 35 now and it's a big ask for him to turn the game.
Celtic have perhaps not been at their best recently, but they have taken 25 points out of a possible 27 so it's unlikely to bother Postecoglou.
They did falter in a semi-final stage last season against Rangers in the Scottish Cup, but they have so many options in their squad, it's hard to make a case for Killie to land a blow here, especially with boss Derek McInnes' record against them – he's managed against Celtic 46 times and lost 38 of them with St Johnstone, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock, including 13 of his last 15 meetings.
How the bookies view it
Celtic are enormous favourites at 1/10 generally, although there is a bit of 1/8 with bet365 about.
Killie fans can get 22/1 for them to pull off a famous win with Coral and even the draw is 9/1 with SBK.
Recent head to heads
Celtic cruised to a bloodless 2-0 win on Saturday and have won the last four meetings against Killie, who last beat the Hoops 12 games ago.
Players to watch
With Kyogo Furuhashi as short as 4/7 to score anytime at best, there could be value elsewhere and his countryman, Daizen Maeda, is 13/8 with Paddy Power to score.
For Killie, the returning Lafferty is 5/1 with William Hill to net at Hampden.
Anything else catch the eye?
There's such an enormous chasm between the Old Firm and the rest and particularly Celtic, it's next to impossible to make a case for a shock here.
In terms of value, the evens with McBookie.com on Celtic to win to nil seems a solid shout since they have managed that on their last four meetings.
Last week's encounter was curiously dull with no bookings at all but that's unlikely to be the case at Hampden in front of a raucous Saturday night crowd. Killie veteran Alan Power will have his work cut out and looks a value bet at 11/8 to be booked with bet365.
It wouldn't be a major surprise if Celtic turn it on here and with Killie likely to be pushing for a way back into the game, holes could open up. Try Celtic to score over 3.5 goals at 13/8 with Paddy Power.
This Scottish League Cup match between Celtic and Kilmarnock will be played on Jan 14, 2023 and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Celtic vs Kilmarnock prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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