CELTIC could be on a revenge mission when they come up against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership at Parkhead on Saturday afternoon.
Brendan Rodgers suffered his first-ever cup defeat as Celtic manager when his side slumped to a 1-0 loss to Kille at Rugby Park back in August.
However, the Hoops have bounced back in admirable style by pocketing 13 points from the last 15 on offer in the Scottish Premiership, most recently earning a manic 2-1 win at Motherwell.
Having said that, Celtic may be a little deflated going into this game after Pedro's stoppage-time header saw Lazio pinch a 2-1 win at Parkhead in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
As for Kilmarnock, their bright start to the season is in danger of becoming a distant memory, with the Ayrshire club failing to win any of their six matches since their aforementioned League Cup win over Celtic.
Derek McInnes’ men played out their third straight stalemate in the Scottish Premiership when being held to a 1-1 draw at home to St Mirren last Saturday.
Outright Betting
Celtic are short priced 1/6 (Bet 365) favourites to make it five Scottish Premiership wins in succession.
Despite already claiming the scalp of both Celtic and Rangers this season, Kilmarnock pitch up at Parkhead as 16/1 (PaddyPower) shots while a point apiece pays 7/1 (PaddyPower) with the same firm.
Betting Angles
While Celtic should get the job done here, I suspect this game could be closer than the odds suggest so I'm going to bypass the 1×2 market and instead merge Under 5 Match Goals and Over 1 Kilmarnock Card at 20/23 (Bet 365).
Although Celtic have won their last four league matches they have by no means been blowing teams away so it could take a little time for them to explode into action against what is a stubborn Kilmarnock side.
As already alluded to, Derek McInnes’ men have toppled both halves of the Old Firm this term and they also battled their way to a well-deserved 0-0 draw at Hearts.
What’s more, each of Killie’s seven league games this season have featured four goals or fewer, and six of Celtic’s seven top-flight tussles this term also falling under the 4.5 goal barrier.
As such, I’m prepared to side with under five strikes on Saturday, but to bring about the aforementioned 20/23 (Bet 365) price, I’ll also go with a minimum of two Kilmarnock cards.
The Rugby Park club are averaging 2.43 cards per-game in the Scottish Premiership this season, a tally that increases to 3.33 away from home.
In fact, this Bet Builder would have paid out in each of Kilmarnock’s three top-flight road trips this term, and the same combination also clicked in their League Cup win over Celtic, all of which adds to the appeal of siding with the same play at Parkhead on Saturday.
Switching attention to the anytime goalscorer market, I'm also going to take Kyogo Furuhashi to get on the scoresheet at 4/5 with William Hill.
The Japanese striker netted his first-ever Champions League goal for Celtic against Lazio on Wednesday night and he looks worthy of interest to bag another this weekend at a backable price.
This Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Kilmarnock will be played on Oct 7, 2023 and kick off at 15:00. 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.
