Celtic vs Livinston Prediction: Under-Fire hosts will return to winning ways

It has been a torrid few weeks for Celtic in the Premiership, but the Hoops must return to winning ways when hosting bottom-club Livingston on Saturday from 15:00. Frank Monkhouse gives us his insights ahead of the encounter...

Celtic enjoy their third home game on the bounce after hosting Feyenoord and Hearts last week. The Bhoys suffered a mixed bag of results in that quickfire double, beating the Dutch side in a UEFA Champions League dead-rubber before losing 2-0 against the Jambos in the league. Fans demand a quick-fire return to winning ways.

Livingston arrives at the home of the champions stuck hard to the bottom of the league and on an extended winless streak. The Lions are already five points off safety and know they must turn things around quickly, or they could drift further from the pack. It’s time for David Martindale and his backroom staff to hit the panic button.

Team News

Celtic leads the Scottish Premiership and remains the favourite to defend its crown successfully, but the team has a title race on its hands. The pace-setters once enjoyed a seven-point cushion over Rangers and the chasing pack, but Philippe Clement’s hopefuls blasted a hole in that advantage. Celtic prepare for this game having won just two of their last five league starts, collecting seven of the 15 points available.

The Bhoys lost 2-1 at Rugby Park against Kilmarnock, despite taking the lead. That was a bitter pill for fans to swallow, but there was worse to come as Brendan Rodgers’ side stumbled to a 2-0 home defeat to Hearts last weekend. Lawrence Shankland gave the Jambos the lead on 15 minutes, and Stephen Kingsley doubled the advantage. The home fans want to see a reaction from the under-fire hosts.

Livi look lost

Under manager David Martindale, Livingston has become an ambitious club. Last season, the Lions impressed fans and neutrals by finishing in midtable. A similar effort was expected this campaign, but the team is rooted to the bottom of the Premiership and going nowhere fast. They have won just two games all season, losing nine and drawing five. It gets worse. The visitors arrive having scored nine goals in 16 games and conceding 23.

Despite their rotten form, weak defence, feeble attack, and their long winless run, there is a glimmer of hope for followers of the away team in this game. Livingston drew last weekend, taking an unexpected point when hosting a hard-working Kilmarnock team at Almondvale. Can Livingston build on that draw against a team that recently defeated Celtic by taking something from Parkhead? Pundits don’t hold much hope for the away team in this game.

Celtic vs Livingston Odds

The pre-match betting odds available on Celtic vs Livingston at Betfred reflect the visitors' poor recent form, but they don’t seem to punish Celtic for losing their last two league starts. There are no surprises in the match-winner betting, and you’ll find Celtic nailed-on to get back on track with a crucial three points and a home win.

Do you think the locals will live up to expectations? You can bet on Celtic to win this game at Parkhead and receive odds of 1/12. That’s unlikely to attract too much attention, given the home team’s recent troubles. Livingston to win on the road, piling pressure on their hosts, is 16/1, or you can back the draw at 7/1.

Bet 1: Celtic -1 handicap @ 1/3

Despite losing their last two league games, we fancy Celtic to win at home on Saturday, sending fans into Christmas with an important three points. They’ll welcome bottom of the league, and the Hoops attack will relish facing such a generous defence. This looks like the ideal game to help Celtic return to winning ways.

In a bid to squeeze a little more value from Saturday’s game in Glasgow, we stray into the handicap markets. Take Celtic to score a convincing victory and back them -1 goal on the handicap at 1/3, which will help boost your weekend accumulators. That approach would’ve landed you a winner when these teams met at Almondvale earlier in the season.

Bet 2: Celtic to win 3-0 @ 5/1

We have a prediction at more attractive odds on Celtic vs Livingston and will trust the stats as we shoot for a 5/1 correct score. When following the trends associated with this game, we note each of the last two renewals has ended in 3-0 wins for the Bhoys. Go back further, and you’ll see Celtic won 3-0 in three of their last four games against Livi.

The Lions have failed to score against Hibs and Livingston already this month, and Celtic scored three goals past Ross County and St Johnstone recently. Take a chance on another 3-0 win for Celtic over Livi and hope to land an early Christmas bonus.

Frank Monkhouse covers Scottish Football for us here at Betfred Insights. You can check out all of his work along with that of the rest of our Football Betting Tips desk on our main Football page...