Match Preview: Hibernian v Celtic

By the time Celtic kick-off against Hibernian on Sunday afternoon, they could find themselves in second place in the Scottish Premiership table as Kilmarnock are expected to defeat Dundee at home on Saturday.

However, by that point, the champions will have three games in hand on Kilmarnock and a win at Hibs will see them go top once again, and they’ll still have played two games less than Steve Clarke’s men.

Rangers play after Celtic on Sunday, so they’ll be hoping for a slip up from their rivals as they look to mount a potential title challenge of their own.

After a rather slow start to the season, Celtic will be hoping that last week’s 5-1 win over Kilmarnock will be the catalyst for a run of wins that could see them pull away at the top of the table.

Hibs’ form has not been great recently and last week’s 1-0 win over Hamilton was their first win in eight games, so Celtic should be confident of getting a win on Sunday afternoon.

However, playing away from home in an early kick-off, just a couple of days after a Europa League clash is never easy and the Hoops will need to be on their game if they want to avoid a post-Europe hangover, something they’ve been prone to in the past.

In terms of predicting the outcome of the game, Celtic will be huge favourites against Neil Lennon’s men and they’re also expected to go on and claim another league title.

However, in recent seasons, the Hoops have strolled to the title but they do face some competition from Rangers this year, which is why, as displayed by these Scottish Premiership Betting Promotions & Free Bets, their odds of winning the title aren’t as short as they have been in recent campaigns.

Despite not being top, Celtic are still odds on at 1/6 to take the title, with Rangers back in second favourite at around 5/1. Looking beyond that could be fruitful, with Kilmarnock a whopping 80/1 to cause a real upset and take the Premiership trophy.

The Hoops have done well to manage a busy schedule, especially as they suffered a lot of injuries along the way, and now that they’re beginning to get most of their players back fit and available to play, this should be the time where their quality shines through.

Ryan Christie, who was named as November’s Premiership player of the month, has been in great form in recent weeks and he’ll be hoping to put in another impressive display to ensure that he keeps his place in the side as Celtic start to get their entire squad fit once again,

Odsonne Edouard scored twice against Hibs back in October to help guide the champions to a 4-2 home win and he’ll be looking to unlock the home side’s defence once again and fire himself to the top of the Scottish Premiership’s top scorer list.

James Forrest, who like Edouard had eight league goals to his name, has also been in fantastic form and he too will fancy getting himself on the scoresheet against a Hibs side which has conceded 19 goals in 16 games so far this season.

Hibs themselves will be hoping that Easter Road is rocking and that Celtic are feeling the effects of Thursday’s battle with Red Bull Salzburg. If that’s the case, Lennon’s side will fancy their chances of pulling off an upset.