Celtic face Dundee at home in the Scottish Premiership this evening, hoping to pile pressure on second-placed Aberdeen for their forthcoming matches. A win tonight, and a win for Aberdeen tomorrow, could see Celtic clinch the title at Pittodrie next week. Craig Cairns looks at the options available at McBookie and picks his tip for tonight’s match.
There is little to be gained from backing Celtic at a very slight 1/7 to win on their home turf against the Dens Park side. Yes, Celtic look certain to win – they are unbeaten in seven in the league, drawing the other – but this price is just too short to consider.
Thus, should you have an incline that Dundee may do their part in delaying Celtic’s title party, a massive 20/1 may tempt you. These odds are huge for a reason, Dundee have lost their last three matches and are without a number of key players. Greg Stewart is suspended, Paul McGowan is under curfew, while Gary Irvine and Gary Harkins are still edging back to full fitness.
Furthermore, Dundee have not defeated Celtic since 2001 and have managed just three draws in the 22 meetings between the sides since. If, in spite of these damning statistics for the Dees, you still want to bet against Celtic, then Dundee/Draw Double Chance can be found at around 9/2.
Really, though we’re looking for ways to make money through a Celtic victory. Celtic Half-time/Full-time isn’t very tempting at the short price of 40/85, so my next consideration was Celtic to Win and Over 2.5 Goals. I was successful with this bet in Celtic’s last match against Dundee United – which only came in after a contentious penalty decision – though the fact that nine of Dundee’s last 11 matches have failed to break the 2.5 goal barrier means I’m not interested in this bet.
Moreover, with only 53% of Celtic’s home matches and 50% of Dundee’s away matches, as well as two of the previous four meetings between the sides, failing to break the 2.5 goal threshold, Celtic to Win and Over 2.5 Goals at 4/5 does not represent good value.
That leaves Both Teams to Score, which is a decent enough price on its own at 2/1. We expect Celtic to score – they have scored in 14 of their 17 home matches and Dundee have conceded in their last seven – but what about the visitors’ chances of finding the net?
After defeat to St Johnstone last weekend, Dundee may no longer retain hopes of making Europe – their very slim hope is reliant on them moving up two positions by overhauling a five-point gap, as well as relying on Inverness winning the Scottish Cup – but they will still feel that catching their city rivals remains a distinct possibility. This gives them something to play for.
There are further reasons to believe that Dundee can score here. They have scored 21 goals in 16 away matches this season and caused problems to the Celtic rearguard during their last visit to Celtic Park. Dundee dominated the first half before conceding on the stroke of half-time. They fell further behind in the second half before grabbing a consolation through David Clarkson. That, as well Dundee’s other two goals versus Celtic, means that both teams have found the net in three of the four meetings between the sides this season.
Both teams have also scored in 24 of Dundee’s 34 league games (71%) and even though only 13 of Celtic’s 34 matches (38%) have ended as such, they conceded in their four matches prior to the win at Tannadice last week – including a 2-1 victory over tonight’s opponents.
Celtic to Win and Both Teams to Score can be backed through McBookie at 13/5.
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