Saturday 16th September 2017 Kickoff:1500hrs Celtic v Hamilton Football – Scotland – Scottish Premiership Celtic were brought back down to earth with a bang on Tuesday evening as they suffered their worst ever home defeat in European football. The 5-0 loss against PSG was a further indication as to just how much a gap there is between the top teams in European football and the rest. The Hoops will hope to improve on that performance and result in their five group games to come but will return to their bread and butter this weekend with the visit of Ross County. Brendan Rodgers was delighted with how his players returned to action after the international break with a 4-1 win over Hamilton last Friday which returned them to the top of the Scottish Premiership. Before the next international break Celtic will face this game, Dundee in the League Cup, Rangers and Anderlecht away, and Hibs at home – so it’s a vital run. With a demanding schedule ahead, a comfortable win on Saturday would be the perfect way to begin.
Ross County achieved their highest ever finish in the top flight last season just a year on from winning their first major trophy. It’s been a remarkable job that Jim McIntyre has done but as is always the case, achieving it on a consistent basis is the hardest task. The sale of top scorer Liam Boyce over the summer made things that bit more difficult, too, and on the early evidence of this campaign it is obvious how much they are missing him. County have performed well in most of their matches this season but have managed only one victory, a 2-1 success away to Dundee on the opening day. They followed that with three straight defeats, albeit two of them were against Aberdeen and Rangers. McIntyre will be more concerned with the manner of their defeat to Motherwell and dropping points to Patrick Thistle last time out. Those are games County have to be winning if they are to repeat their efforts of last season. A trip to Celtic Park is hardly the game to be targeting for a return to winning ways but County can take heart from the fact they were one of only four teams to take points off the Champions last season.
Celtic v Ross County Betting Tip
Celtic slipped up in their most recent home game when drawing with St Johnstone. Like this one, that came on the back of a European match and that’s always going to be an issue in the first half of the season at least. Rodgers will likely use his squad more than he did last season with Callum McGregor, Odsonne Edouard and James Forrest all set to step in following starting on the bench against PSG. For County it is a difficult one to approach as massive underdogs and coming off the back of the winless run that they are on. They lost 2-0 on their only visit to Celtic Park last season and it’s difficult to envisage how they improve on that on Saturday.
I can only see Celtic coming out fully focussed following their poor result and performance in midweek, and with so many crucial games upcoming they will want to return to winning ways in style. Although they had huge problems coping with PSG’s star studded attack, they should find things much more straightforward against County, who have struggled for goals. Take Celtic to win without conceding.
Celtic to win to nil 10/11 @ Marathon Bet
