*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
There’s no getting away from the fact that Celtic’s 5-1 aggregate Europa Conference League defeat to Bodo Glimt was a massive disappointment. It means Celtic will now go one of two ways. They’ll either regroup and focus their minds on their Scottish Premiership title charge or that defeat will knock their confidence and potentially let Rangers in.
As it stands The Bhoys are three points clear of their old friends from across Glasgow with 11 games left in total and six to go until the split. There’s still two Old Firm games left this season and there’s absolutely no room for slip ups now.
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The latest football odds are on PaddyPower.com right nowThey head to Hibernian on Sunday with The Hibees sitting in 4th and in danger of slipping into the bottom six. Celtic have been absolutely sensational in league action while Hibs have been in poor form, though they have won their last two games.
How will Celtic react, then? We’re about to find out as they face one of their toughest remaining assignments between now and the end of the season. Will Hibs make hay and find a rare chink in the armour? Let’s take a look through the medium of a beautiful Bet Builder.
*A Bet Builder with these four best bets pays at approximately 21/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
Sunday 12pm: Hibernian v Celtic
TV: Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football
Handicap Draw (+1)
I’m backing Celtic to get back to winning ways in more familiar surroundings – but only just. This Handicap Draw (+1) selection effectively means we’re backing Celtic to win by a single goal.
Added to those two Glimt defeats, I’m a little concerned that Celtic only beat rock bottom Dundee by the odd goal in their 3-2 win seven days ago. Hibs are vastly superior to Dundee but, as they’ve started scoring again while maintaining their pretty good defensive record, I think Celtic will just edge them here.
This bet would have landed in four of Celtic’s last six Premiership matches while it’s rare for Hibs to get beaten by two or more goals. In fact, they’ve only lost by two or more goals once in their last eight games and that was away at Rangers.
Over 2.5 Goals
Celtic’s rock-solid defence has shown serious cracks recently and I think there’s a good chance Hibs score here. Over 2.5 Goals has easily landed in all four of Celtic’s most recent Premiership games. Those games have seen a whopping 17 goals at an average of 4.25 per match.
For Hibs, they’re far more goal shy and Overs has landed just once in their last five, their 3-2 home loss to Livingston. But they’re coming out of a bad patch and should be able to capitalise on The Hoops backline which has now let in nine goals in their last five games in all competitions.
Over 2.5 Hibs cards
While Hibs had been struggling to score goals up until recently, they’ve had no trouble racking up the cards. You have to go back five games to find a match in which they’ve picked up fewer than two yellows.
They received three in their last match and I think, given the expected Celtic dominance of possession and territory here, there’s a good chance they repeat that trick again. The line is 2 but I think it’s worth taking a bit of a chance on Over 2.5 Hibernian Cards.
Over 10.5 corners
Generally speaking, Celtic rack up loads of corners. In their last five top flight games they’ve won 48 at an average of 9.6 a match – and in one of those games they had just 3. They don’t concede many, though, with an average of 2 per match and a high of just 4 over that run.
Hibs are, predictably, less prolific in the corner count with 30 at an average of 6 per game for them. They concede more with 22 against, an average of 4.4 per match. All this thrown into the pot works out at an accumulative total of exactly 11 corners per game in matches involving these two – both for and against.
This Over 10.5 Corners punt is a really good one as Celtic have beaten it by themselves in two of that five, getting 10 on two occasions. We’re not asking much from Hibs on this front but even if the can muster just a couple we should see Over 10.5 Corners here.
Hibs v Celtic tips
Handicap Draw (+1)
Over 2.5 Goals
Over 2.5 Hibs cards
Over 10.5 corners
*A Bet Builder with these four best bets pays at approximately 21/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
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*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
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