CELTIC's latest assignment on their congested early season calendar takes them to Fir Park for a Saturday lunchtime meeting with Motherwell.
Neil Lennon's men will arrive in North Lanarkshire fresh off the back of a midweek trip to Transylvania where the Bhoys bagged a valuable 1-1 draw against CFR Cluj in their quest to reach the money-spinning Champions League group stages.
The bookies are not anticipating any kind of Hoops hangover from their midweek exertions when they face Motherwell with an away win odds-on at 1/3 (Ladbrokes)
Yet, Celtic have failed to win at Fir Park in their last three attempts – having drawn on all three occasions – and a repeat of that outcome is on offer at 17/4 (UniBet)
Alternatively, if you fancy the Steelmen to stun the Scottish Champions and claim all three points then a home win is priced as high as 9/1 (BetVictor)
Stephen Robinson oversaw all three of the aforementioned Well draws with Celtic and that was also how Robinson's side started their Scottish Premiership season last weekend following an opening day stalemate away to Livingston.
In the lead up to last weeks trip to the Tony Macaroni Arena Motherwell had blitzed their Betfred Cup group by wining all four fixtures, firing in 13 goals and registering four clean-sheets.
Such form sees the the Steelmen intriguingly priced at 19/20 (SportingBet) just to score a goal on Saturday afternoon, whereas the both teams to score option is available at 15/13 (SportingBet) with the same firm.
It remains to be seen who Motherwell turn to for goals this season in the absence of injured talisman and former Celtic target David Turnbull , not to mention the big turnaround in the Well playing squad over the close season.
A number of new faces have landed in Lanarkshire including Sherwin Seadorf and Devante Cole as well as two individuals who will be more familiar to Scottish football fans in the shape of Liam Polworth and Declan Gallagher.
Gallagher will be my first port of call for this fixture after he clocked up seven yellow cards for Livingston last season and in doing so the defender was the Lions most booked player.
Furthermore, Gallagher picked up 10 bookings during the season prior to last so all things considered the 3/1 (William Hill) on offer for a Gallagher card against the reigning Scottish Champions looks generous.
Liam Polworth also looks overpriced for a card at 4/1 (Bet 365) after receiving an opening day yellow at Livingston and he notably racked up 7 bookings for Inverness last term.
One man who could find himself on the receiving end of some of Motherwell tackles is the majestic Ryan Christie.
Following an early season explosion Christie is arguably the best player in the country based on recent performances and I fancy his fabulous form to continue at Fir Park.
With six goals in six games – including a flag day hatrick in the 7- 0 thumping over St Johnstone – Christie is an enticing 9/5 to net anytime in a fixture that he scored in last season.
Although Motherwell will represent a more serious test to Celtic this weekend, the Hoops can come through it and Christie can inspire Celtic to their first victory at Fir Park in four attempts.
The odds on offer for an away win do not appeal, however an alternative angle to consider in trying to source value could be to opt for free-scoring Celtic To Score 2 or More Goals and Celtic 5 Or More Corners at 5/6 (Betfred)
This Scottish Premiership match between Motherwell and Celtic will be played on Aug 10, 2019 and kick off at 12:00. Check below for our tipsters best Motherwell vs Celtic prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
