St Johnstone vs Celtic Prediction: Treble-chasing Bhoys will blow away struggling Saints

The second Scottish Cup semi-final of the weekend comes from Hampden on Sunday as St Johnstone and Celtic go head-to-head from 15:00 GMT in a match you can follow live on Premier Sports 1. Betfred’s Frank Monkhouse offers his St Johnstone vs Celtic predictions from the national stadium.

St Johnstone find themselves stuck in the Premiership relegation zone and facing the real possibility of playing Championship football next season. However, the team from Perth is potentially 90 minutes away from reaching the Scottish Cup final. They must defeat the cup holders and betting favourites to achieve that dream. No mean feat, of course, but miracles do happen in this competition.

Celtic make the short journey from the east end of Glasgow to Mount Florida as strong pre-match betting favourites with Betfred to win this game and go on to successfully defend the trophy they won from Rangers last year.

With the League Cup already taking pride of place in the Celtic Park trophy cabinet and another league title guaranteed, Brendan Rodgers’ Hoops are moving in on a domestic clean sweep.

Team News

Long-term absentees Bozo Mikulic, Iche Ikpeazu and Sam McClelland are all expected to be unavailable, while Drey Wright will also miss the game at Hampden Park for St Johnstone with an ankle problem.

As for Celtic, first-choice goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel is out with a shoulder problem, meaning that Viljami Sinisalo is likely continue between the posts.

Liam Scales returned from a head knock last week and will be hoping to retain his place, while Yang Hyun-Jun is out until next month with an elbow injury.

St Johnstone vs Celtic Odds

With this being a cup tie, it should be noted that the following is all 90 minute betting.

If Sunday’s game was a Premiership meeting with top of the league playing bottom in Glasgow, it would be priced like a foregone conclusion.

But this is the cup and, as we’ve seen many times in the past - including this season - you can never be quite sure of the result until the final whistle. St Johnstone beat Livingston 1-0 in the previous round and are 16/1 to scalp the champions inside 90 minutes.

Celtic booked their slot in the last four with a battling 2-0 home win over a dogged and determined Hibs. The team from Edinburgh arrived in excellent form, but proved no match for a Hoops side that was solid in defence, imaginative in midfield and decisive in attack.

The draw has been written off at 13/2 with a Celtic win chalked up at 1/6, and that’s sure to be popular with accumulator bettors.

Celtic -1 handicap @ 1/2

Celtic are the champions, form side of the two and deserved pre-match betting favourites. But the odds are tight, meaning we head into the specials in search of a play at better odds. I expect the Bhoys to live up to expectations and win the game with room to spare.

They come up against an improving opponent, but their experience and squad depth will prove the difference on Sunday afternoon before a large audience.

Celtic lost 1-0 in their most recent game against St Johnstone, meaning they’re out for revenge. Celtic attracted much criticism following that defeat at McDiarmid Park, but they have a golden opportunity to claim their revenge here.

The Saints and Celtic have met three times already this season, with the aggregate score reading 10-1 in the Glaswegians’ favour. Take Celtic -1 on the handicap as a single or part of your multiples.

Celtic to win and both teams to score @ 15/8

Followers of my Scottish football previews know how much faith I put in the stats and trends, leading to some nice winners and healthy profits. But I’m going against the grain for my second pick at Hampden, backing both teams to score and Celtic to win.

The form shows only one team found the net in each of the previous three meetings this season and four of the last six.

But St Johnstone are improving under manager Simo Valakari and upset the odds to win 1-0 in Perth just a fortnight ago. The Saints will go out but won’t go down without a fight. Back St Johnstone to get amongst the goals.

Offers

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