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Ayr United will face Celtic at the Somerset Park on Friday in a pre-season friendly between the two teams. The home side endured a rather underwhelming campaign in the Scottish second-tier last season and have now begun preparations for a much better run of results in the 2024-25 campaign.
They kicked off their pre-season campaign last week with a 4-2 victory over amateur side East Stirlingshire before beating East Kilbride by the same scoreline in their second pre-season friendly on Tuesday.
Celtic, meanwhile, enjoyed a brilliant finish to their season as they successfully defended their Scottish Premiership and Cup titles to clinch a domestic double. They will kick off their pre-season campaign this weekend as they begin work to retain the two trophies in the coming season.
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The Bhoys are set to welcome club legend Scott Brown back to club this Friday as their former captain heads into his sixth month as manager of Ayr. Following the weekend clash, Celtic will face fellow Scottish side Queen's Park next week before playing DC United in Washington DC later in the month.
Ayr United vs Celtic Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Historically, there have been 91 meetings between Ayr and Celtic. The hosts have won just 12 of those games while the visitors have won 72 times. There have been seven draws between the two teams.
- The two sides last faced off in a Scottish Cup clash back in March 2002 which the Celts won 3-0.
- Celtic have won each of their last eight games in this fixture.
- Ayr have failed to score any goals in five of their last six games in this fixture.
Ayr United vs Celtic Prediction
Ayr are on a run of back-to-back victories after winning just one of their six games prior. However, they have a difficult test this weekend and will be looking to give a good account of themselves against one of the nation's powerhouses on Friday.
Celtic closed out the previous campaign on a brilliant eight-game winning streak and have lost just one game all year. They are by far the stronger side ahead of the weekend clash and should win this one fairly easily.
Prediction: Ayr United 0-4 Celtic
Ayr United vs Celtic Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Celtic to win
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (10 of the last 11 matches between the two teams have produced more than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: NO (Both sides have found the back of the net in just one of their last eight matchups)
