St Mirren vs Celtic Prediction: Expect a Scottish Cup Classic in Paisley

Scottish Cup champions Celtic will take their defence to Paisley for a fascinating Fourth-Round tie. This match kicks-off at 14:00 on Sunday and will be broadcast live on Viaplay Sports 1.

Betfred’s Scottish football writer Frank Monkhouse previews the action and gives us his best St Mirren vs Celtic Predictions...

Sunday brings the two remaining fixtures from the Scottish Cup Fourth Round, with St Mirren hosting Celtic from 2:00 pm in an intriguing tie you can follow live on television before Hearts visit Airdrie. Game of the day is in Paisley, where the cup holders must negotiate a tricky all-Premiership tie against an ambitious Saints eager to cause an upset.

St Mirren weren’t at their best in the previous round when beating lowly Queen of the South 1-0 at this venue. A solid header from Alex Gogic on 71 minutes sent the Buddies into the draw for the last 16. Celtic brushed past Buckie Thistle in Glasgow and will feel they are favourites to win back-to-back Scottish Cups.

Team News

The home team enters with confidence following back-to-back wins in the Scottish Premiership, and they’ve collected nine of the last 15 points available.

Stephen Robinson’s team beat Hibs 3-0 in Edinburgh last Saturday, scoring all three goals in the first half. They followed that with another eye-catching result, downing Dundee 2-0 at this venue on Wednesday, despite finishing the game with ten men following the dismissal of James Bolton.

Manager Brendan Rodgers and his under-fire Celtic squad will feel they have a point to prove in Paisley following a difficult few games.

Last season’s treble winners drew 1-1 at Pittodrie last weekend, fighting back from a goal down to grab a share of the spoils. They then needed two penalties to see off Hibs in Edinburgh on Wednesday, with new arrival Adam Idah scoring from the spot on 10 and 92 minutes.

St Mirren vs Celtic Odds

There’s a feeling that this could be a banana skin fixture for Celtic on Sunday, but that’s not obvious in the pre-match betting odds available at Betfred, where the visitors are the hot favourites to progress. St Mirren are the underdogs, despite enjoying the home advantage, and that will suit them nicely.

Fancy a home win in Sunday’s live game? You can back St Mirren for victory at 17/2, and that’s much higher than expected. The draw is 9/2, while you’ll find an away win for Celtic no better than the 1/5 currently available. The Bhoys will be made to work hard for a spot in the next round, that’s for sure.

Both teams to score @ 11/10

We start by betting on both teams to score and hoping the game lives up to expectations. The same approach has earned a profit in four of the last five games involving these sides, and we fancy more of the same. The spare in that run was a 3-0 win for Celtic when the sides last met in early January.

We’ve seen some interesting results in that five-game period, including a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park last May and a couple of 5-1 wins for the champions, including in this competition exactly a year ago in Glasgow. Will we see a repeat performance 12 months down the line at St Mirren Park? Let’s hope for a few more goals and plenty to cheer.

Celtic win and both score @ 15/8

Sticking with that train of thought but pushing our luck a little further in search of better odds, we back both teams to score and Celtic to win at a decent 15/8 quote you’ll find on the Betfred website and mobile app. That’s good enough to add a little interest to your Sunday afternoon viewing.

Looking through the head-to-head stats, both teams to score and Celtic to win were profitable bets in three of the last five meetings. It would’ve also been a smart approach when Celtic beat Hibs in midweek and their recent wins over Rangers, Feyenoord and St Johnstone. That bet should give backers a run for their money at a price we can work with.

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...