A new Scottish Premiership season gets underway, and this means we will be focusing on the champions.
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Nine More Months
With Ange Postecoglou switching Glasgow for North London, it is now time for Brendan Rodgers to return to the Celtic Park hot seat.
Brendan Is Back
The Scottish Premiership title race is one that only really has two entrants and one of those will get the campaign underway on Saturday. That honour is bestowed to defending champions Celtic, their opponents are a Ross County side who only just survived a relegation play-off in May.
Their manager Malky Mackay played for Celtic in the mid 1990′s and now the former Cardiff and Wigan boss will have to try and mastermind a huge upset in the opening weekend of the new season.
Something that is going to be far easier than done and even though this treble winning Celtic side may no longer have the man who masterminded it in charge, they do have the man who oversaw their invincible treble winning season of 2017.
That man is none other than Brendan Rodgers and after being sacked by Leicester in April, his stint of unemployment would only last a few months. Now the Ulsterman has to try and make a mockery of the adage ‘you should never go back in football’.
Then again, if you are to go back in football, there are not many safer places you can go to than Celtic Park. Yes, the green and white half of Glasgow can be a pressure cooker at the best of times, but it is also fair to say that Rodgers should be able to slot right back into old surroundings.
Especially when you consider the quality of Celtic’s squad and although they may have lost winger Jota to the Saudi football revolution that is currently taking place, they have managed to keep hold of star forward Kyogo Furuhashi.
The Japanese striker was perhaps lazily linked with a move to Tottenham and another link up with former boss Ange Postecoglou. Thankfully for Celtic supporters, any talk of a move to the English capital was quashed with the signature of a new contract.
Kyogo scored 27 goals in his first full season in the Scottish Premiership, and they go alongside the 12 that he scored in the back end of the 2021/122 campaign. 39 in just 56 appearances is certainly nothing to be sniffed at.
As always, Celtic will look to regenerate after losing a big name and how they continually evolve is one of their strongest assets. An asset that the likes of Ross County and many other opponents are going to struggle with over the next nine months.
But now it is time for the first of my two tips. With it being the opening week of the season, Celtic may need some time to go up through the gears. Therefore, I am backing the half time draw and then eventual home win at 3/1.
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Our top prediction for Saturday's match in Glasgow
Draw HT-Celtic FT is our top value prediction
While in addition to this, it may be a win that also sacrifices a clean sheet come the end of Saturday lunchtime. With this in mind, I am also going to go for a 2-1 win for the hosts and holders at odds of 10/1.
Celtic vs Ross County Predictions
Correct Score Prediction
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