Celtic v Ross County

Celtic vs Ross County Preview

Saturday lunchtime not only heralds the start of another Scottish top flight season but it also ushers in another new era at Celtic Park as former manager, Brendan Rodgers, has returned for a second stint at the famous Glasgow outfit and will oversee this opening game of the Premiership season against Ross County.

Former boss, Ange Postecoglou, has since moved onto pastures new at Tottenham in the English Premier League which paved the way for the return of Rodgers to The Hoops where he enjoyed considerable success as he guided Celtic to back-to-back Premiership titles, back-to-back Scottish Cup crowns along with winning the Scottish League Cup three years on the trot.

A change of management isn't likely to change Celtic's fortunes on the pitch though and the hosts will be keen to continue their dominance over the rest of the field once again this season although they will be desperate to set the record straight against their old foes, Rangers, after being handed a heavy 3-0 defeat towards the end of last season.

Nevertheless, Celtic finished seven points clear of runners-up, Rangers, at the conclusion of the Championship Group phase which was underpinned by an excellent 19-match unbeaten record at Celtic Park that included 17 wins along with keeping eight clean sheets in the process.

By contrast, Ross County finished bottom of the Scottish Premiership table at the end of the 1st phase of the domestic top flight campaign which saw them head into the 2nd phase in the Relegation Group but The Staggies managed to claw their way up into second from bottom position where they had to play a relegation/promotion play-off against Partick Thistle.

A 2-0 defeat in the 1st leg looked highly ominous for Ross County but they turned things around by beating Thistle 3-1 in the return leg and then prevailed in what was a chaotic penalty shoot-out to confirm their Premiership status for another season.

Ross County will therefore want to avoid a repeat of that particular play-off this time around but having posted just three wins in their final 11 matches of last season, it looks like being another tough battle for The Staggies towards the bottom of the Premiership table this term.

Celtic v Ross County Verdict Celtic were unbeatable at Celtic Park last season and almost perfect in terms of win percentage (89.5%), while also being dominant over visitors, Ross County, in previous meetings as Celtic have won each of the previous eight encounters against The Staggies.

Brendan Rodgers will want his side to lay down an early marker and a win to nil for the hosts looks a good option here.

Therefore, our main bet will be Celtic win & Both Teams To Score NO @ 1.83

Other side bets worth considering:

Celtic win & Under 3.5 goals @ 2.50

Correct score: Celtic 2-0 @ 7.50