Celtic and Kilmarnock get the ball rolling in the 2024-25 Scottish Premiership when they square off at Celtic Park on Sunday. Brendan Rodgers’ men are unbeaten in 19 consecutive home games against Killie and will look to extend this dominant run.
Celtic turned in a performance of the highest quality in their final game of pre-season as they thrashed English Premier League side Chelsea 4-1 at the Notre Dame Stadium last Saturday.
This capped off a solid run of results in the off-season for Rodgers’ men, who picked up four wins and one draw in their five warm-up games while scoring 19 goals and conceding nine.
Celtic come into the new Premiership season off the back of an outstanding 2023-24 campaign as they stormed to a 13th Scottish league and cup double.
Kilmarnock, on the other hand, picked up 56 points from 38 matches last season to finish fourth in the championship round table and secure a spot in the Europa League qualifiers.
However, Killie’s dreams of European football came to an end on Thursday as they were beaten 1-0 by Cercle Brugge in the second leg of the Europa League second qualifying round, having played a 1-1 draw in the reverse leg on July 25.
While Kilmarnock will look to put the midweek defeat behind them and get the new league campaign off to a bright start, they have failed to win their last 19 visits to Celtic Park since a 2-0 victory in October 2012.
Celtic vs Kilmarnock Head-To-Head and Key Numbers
- Celtic have been imperious in the history of this fixture, having picked up 70 wins in the last 88 meetings between the two teams.
- Kilmarnock have managed just eight wins in that time, while the spoils have been shared on 10 occasions.
- Celtic are unbeaten in their last 10 home games in the Premiership, picking up nine wins and one draw since a 2-0 defeat against Hearts in December 2023.
- Kilmarnock have lost just one of their last eight away games in the league while claiming two wins and five draws since the start of February.
Celtic vs Kilmarnock Prediction
Off the back of an outstanding pre-season campaign, Celtic will head into the new campaign with sky-high confidence as they seek to retain the title for a third consecutive year.
Celtic boast the firepower needed to get the job done, and given their dominance in this fixture, we are backing them to secure a comfortable opening-day victory.
Prediction: Celtic 4-1 Kilmarnock
Celtic vs Kilmarnock Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Celtic to win
Tip 2: Over 2.5 goals - Yes (There have been three or more goals scored in eight of Celtic’s last 10 games)
Tip 3: Both sides to score - Yes (Both sides have also scored in four of the hosts’ last five outings)