Partick Thistle v Celtic Betting Tip Celtic to win to nil – Tuesday 23rd January 2018

Celtic to grind out another win

Scottish Premiership Betting Tips

Tuesday 22nd January 2018 Kick off 1945hrs Partick Thistle v Celtic Football – Scotland – Scottish Premiership Unlike in England, Scottish football’s top clubs benefit from having a three week winter break. The league shuts down for longer than that as the first game back after the break is the Scottish Cup, so this will be the first league game of 2018 for both Partick Thistle and Celtic. It will also be the first of two meetings in the space of a month after the two Glasgow clubs were paired together in the next round of the cup having both won their games at the weekend.

Partick Thistle were the surprise packages of Scottish football last season as they put behind them a series of struggling seasons to finish in the top six and earn plenty of plaudits for the style of their football under Alan Archibald. As a result of that, expectations were increased and the board responded to that by investing in the squad as they tried to build on that success. As we all know, however, success also sparks interest amongst other clubs in key players and Thistle never escaped this with Liam Lindsay moving south having starred at the back. A sluggish start to the season followed and the Firhill club were soon returned to an all too familiar position in the bottom six and more seriously, at the foot of the Scottish Premiership. It’s a position they occupied for much of the first half of this season but they managed to close out 2017 by creeping ahead of Ross County thanks to two wins in their last three games. Both of those wins came at home and were one goal victories against teams who they will be likely competing against for survival. The visit of Celtic is going to be a completely different test altogether, of course, but they have won five of their last six at home so they will be hoping to be competitive at least.

Celtic closed out what was a tremendously successful 2017 with an eight point gap over second place Aberdeen but not with the result they would have wanted having been held to a goalless draw at home to Rangers. It was a game that suggested the break was coming just at the right time for the Hoops who looked tired and lethargic in the second half and would have been thankful to get out the game with a point, ensuring their long-standing domestic unbeaten record at home remained intact. The champions jetted off for some warm weather training in Dubai and it appeared to do them some good as they romped to a 5-0 win over Championship strugglers Brechin City on Saturday. It was the perfect game for Celtic to come back into ahead of what will be a trip to a difficult venue on Tuesday night. Brendan Rodgers remains keen to help the players he has at his disposal by bringing in some new faces before the end of the transfer window but it will be the status quo tomorrow as they attempt to increase the gap at the top before the teams chasing them play on Wednesday, as Rangers host Aberdeen.

Partick Thistle v Celtic Betting Tip

This will be the third meeting between the two clubs already this season and (unless Thistle somehow managed to get into the top six) it will be the last time they face each other in the league this term. The draw for the next round of the Scottish Cup has not been kind for Thistle who will make the trip to Celtic Park in early February, but their main priority just now is surviving and that means getting points from as many games as possible. Celtic have held the upper had over the jags in their two games thus far. A 1-0 win back in August at Firhill was then followed by a 2-0 win at home in December. As has often been the case when the two teams meet, there has been little between them for long spells. Celtic did runaway with both games at Firhill last year but those have tended to be the exception rather than the rule.

Archibald has often found a way to frustrate Celtic but they have not got much of a reward in the way of points, so he has to decide how best to approach this one. He can’t be gung ho but they may have to carry more of a threat than in previous meetings. We know what to expect from Celtic and that will be looking to dominate possession and use their superior quality to open teams up. The absence of Tom Rogic and Patrick Roberts has made that difficult at times as they lack some creativity, but they have responded well to the 4-0 loss at Hearts just over a month ago, winning four of their next five and conceding no goals in the process. I sense a similar outcome on Tuesday with the away team taking all three points without conceding.

Celtic to win to nil 3/4 @ Boylesports