CELTIC will be looking to maintain their 100% start to the Scottish Premiership season when they lock horns with Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Sunday lunchtime.
After enjoying an unbeaten pre-season over the summer, Ange Postecoglou's side started their title defence with a comfortable 2-0 opening weekend win over Aberdeen.
The Bhoys have since followed up on that success with a hard-fought 3-1 win at Ross County, on an afternoon where my recommended Bet Builder banked.
That latest victory means that Celtic's Scottish Premiership unbeaten streak now stands at a whopping 34 games ahead of this weekend's trip to Ayrshire.
Newly-promoted Kilmarnock managed to rescue a 1-1 draw in their maiden Scottish Premiership match of the new season at home to Dundee United a fortnight ago.
However, Derek McInnes' men were unable to maintain their unbeaten start at Ibrox as they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Rangers last weekend, in a game that brought up both of my bets.
Outright Betting
Kilmarnock have avoided defeat in each of their last 10 home matches across all competitions but the bookmakers' odds suggest that run will come to an end this weekend, with a Killie success as big as 12/1 (William Hill) while the stalemate can be supported at 6/1 (Betfred).
Celtic, who haven't lost a Scottish Premiership match since last September, roll into Rugby Park as red-hot 2/9 favourites with Bet365.
Betting Angles
You won't get rich backing Celtic at such short prices so I'll head to the Bet Builder market and combine Celtic to win, under five match goals and over four Celtic corners at 4/5 with Bet365.
Against a side as good as Celtic, the hosts won’t want to be giving anything away so they’re likely to sit deep in an attempt to keep things tight, as was their approach against Rangers last weekend.
Derek McInnes knows how to set up a team that can dig in and soak up pressure, making them hard to break down, and that is evidenced by the fact each of Kilmarnock's 19 league outings under their current manager have featured four goals or fewer.
While Celtic's superior quality will probably see them breakthrough eventually, they could be left frustrated for long periods, and I'm therefore happy to side with a Celtic success and under five match strikes.
With Ange Postecoglou's attack-minded team expected to dictate the tempo of the game, as well as the fact they averaged an eye-watering 9.84 corners per game in the Scottish Premiership last season, I'll round off the Bet Builder with a minimum of five Celtic corners.
It's worth pointing out that the above-mentioned Bet Builder would have banked profit in each of the Bhoys' opening two league games of the season and that only adds to the appeal of supporting the same selection at Rugby Park on Sunday.
Elsewhere, I'll also dip into the player card market and have a small play on the 7/2 on offer Bet 365 for Kilmarnock's Ash Taylor to be carded.
The Killie centre-half has been cautioned in each of his sides' opening two league games of the season and he looks nicely priced to pick up another booking here against a Celtic frontline that will cause him real problems.
This Scottish Premiership match between Kilmarnock and Celtic will be played on Aug 14, 2022 and kick off at 12:00. Check below for our tipsters best Kilmarnock vs Celtic prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
