Falkirk v Celtic
Falkirk

Falkirk vs Celtic

, KO: 19:45 , Falkirk Stadium
Celtic

Martin O'Neill is working his magic again at Celtic and will be looking to make it two wins from two when the Hoops travel to Falkirk on SPFL Premiership duty.

The Bairns provided the opposition for O'Neill's first game back at the helm following Brendan Rodgers' sacking and a 4-0 win set the tone for a hugely successful spell as interim manager.

Seven wins from eight games revived Celtic's season at home and in Europe but all that good work was undone by Wilfried Nancy's disastrous reign.

The Frenchman didn't last long at Parkhead and lost six of his eight games in charge before O'Neill was summoned back to sort out the mess.

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The Hoops duly beat Dundee United 4-0 on his return, with two bets landing for me, and they now face a tricky game on the road against the in-form Bairns.

Staying in the Premiership would have been the goal for John McGlynn's men at the start of the season, having won back-to-back promotions.

But Falkirk are flying and a run of three wins in their last four games has fired them into the top six.

Rangers have already dropped points at the Falkirk Stadium this season and McGlynn's side will now be looking to upset the champions.

How the bookies view it: Bairns written off

Celtic were impressive at the weekend and their best price for this game is just 1/2 with Betfred. Falkirk are 5/1 with most firms and the draw pays 19/5 at Coral.

Recent head to head: Hoops on top

This is just the second league meeting after Falkirk's relegation from the top flight in 2010. But these teams have faced off four times in the cups since then, with the Hoops winning every game.

None of those ties were played at Falkirk's ground and you have to back to 2010 for Celtic's last visit, a 2-0 league win for the Glasgow giants.

Players to watch: Maeda the middle man again

Daizen Maeda played on the left for most of Nancy's reign but O'Neill put the Japanese star back through the middle against United. Maeda scored in that game and looks good at 6/4 with Coral for another goal here. He's also a decent 21/10 with the same firm for over 1.5 efforts on target.

Barney Stewart is back at Falkirk from a successful loan spell at Dunfermline and has started up front in the last two games. His physicality could cause Celtic some problems and he's 3/1 with Paddy Power for anytime scorer.

Probable line-ups

Falkirk could hand a debut to Sheffield United loanee Louie Marsh while fellow new boy Ben Parkinson made his first appearance off the bench at the weekend. Lewis Neilson, Gary Oliver, Ross MacIver and Tom Lang are still injured.

O'Neill will be tempted to stick with the same team that impressed at the weekend. Cameron Carter-Vickers, Alistair Johnston, Marcello Saracchi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Jota and Callum Osmand remain out.

Falkirk: Bain, McCann, Henderson, Allan, Lissah, Spencer, Yeats, Marsh, Tait, Miller, Stewart.

Celtic: Schmeichel, Araujo, Trusty, Scales, Tierney, McGregor, Engels, Hatate, Yang, Tounekti, Maeda.

Anything else catch the eye?

Falkirk are one of the few teams in the SPFL Premiership who don't sit deep against the Old Firm and set up to frustrate. It usually makes for a decent watch but it has been to their detriment of late against Celtic, condeding an average of four goals in the last four meetings.

However, having a go worked against Rangers, with the Bairns drawing 1-1 at home, and I fancy them for a goal here. BTTS only pays 3/4 with most firms but adding on over 2.5 goals boosts the odds to 11/10 at Ladbrokes.

Think both sides will find the net? Our BTTS Masterclass explains how to spot the fixtures where goals are a given.

We saw 13 corners when Falkirk drew with Rangers and seven of them went to the Bairns. That makes over 11 corners a decent option here at 5/4 with Bet365, while over 4.5 Falkirk corners pays 8/5 at BetMGM.

Falkirk vs Celtic Betting Tips & Predictions
Daizen Maeda over 1.5 shots on target
21/10
Coral
BTTS and over 2.5 goals
11/10
Ladbrokes
Over 11 corners
5/4
Bet365
Further Reading
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