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Celtic have been imperious in the Scottish Premiership so far, winning all three of their games and recording a goal difference of +6.
It’s going to take something special to stop them at the minute, and you wonder if Aberdeen are a likely candidate for that.
They had a golden opportunity to put a dent in Rangers’ title hopes on Sunday, given that the Gers were involved in a long and emotionally draining continental game on Thursday. But the Dons couldn't capitalise, and could only muster 0.45 xG in a 0-1 defeat.
Celtic v Aberdeen Tips
Celtic to Win & Under 5 Goals @ 3/4 (Bet365)
Celtic Goals Range: 1-3 @ 8/15 (Bet365)
Aberdeen Over 2.5 Corners @ 4/6 (Bet365)
Odds courtesy of Bet365. Correct at the time of publication and subject to change.
Home Comforts
Priced at just 1/5 to win by the bookmakers, there’s no hiding Celtic’s expected dominance here.
There is a temptation to back Martin O’Neill’s men to win to nil at a juicy price of 6/5, but we can hedge our bets a little with this selection, which covers the Celtic victory but also enables Aberdeen to get on the scoresheet.
Not that you’d be convinced that they will. They created few chances of note against Rangers and drew a blank in their previous Premiership outing against Dundee; recording another lowly xG tally of 0.71.
Even in the Dons’ 2-1 win over Hearts, they scored twice in injury time in a chaotic conclusion to the match.
Celtic have won their last six Scottish Premiership games against Aberdeen. All three of their victories last season would have landed this particular selection, so these odds of 3/4 certainly look good value.
Yes, there’s injuries and illness in the Celtic camp – Kasper Hogh, Reo Hatate, Callum McGregor and Alistair Johnston all missed the 2-1 win over Falkirk at the weekend – but that was a game that the Hoops won with consummate ease anyway.
Aberdeen, at their best, are a different proposition to Falkirk. But they haven’t been at their best at any point so far this term, and Celtic’s quality and strength in depth is such that they will surely have enough to see off the Dons on home soil on Wednesday.
Tip: Celtic to Win and Under 5 Goals @ 3/4 (Bet365)
Explanation: Our bet lands if Celtic win the game and there’s a total of four or fewer goals scored.
Creatures of Habit
If you take Celtic’s last 10 Scottish Premiership games, you’ll note that they’ve scored either one, two or three goals in nine of them.
The anomaly? A 5-1 demolition of Kilmarnock. So no matter where they play or who the opponent is, the Hoops find a route to goal.
That trend will surely continue with the capture of Hogh, and even if he doesn’t feature on Wednesday there’s still a more than adequate replacement in Camilo Duran, who has notched five goals in his last four games.
Aberdeen, meanwhile, have shipped four goals in their opening three Premiership games of the campaign. But they’ve yielded 5.5 xG – suggesting that the tally should be higher.
In some respects, we’re basically betting on Celtic not to score four or more on Wednesday… something they’ve achieved in only one of their last 10 league games.
Tip: Celtic Goals Range: 1-3 @ 8/15 (Bet365)
Explanation: Celtic have to score one, two or three goals for our selection to land.
Set Piece Selection
Here’s a pick that has landed in each of these sides’ combined last six games… suggesting that a price of 4/6 is fair game.
Celtic have yielded four, five and three corners in their trio of Scottish Premiership outings to date, while Aberdeen have won four, four and six corners respectively in theirs.
Of course, a trip to Celtic Park is another matter entirely, but the Dons won four corners on their last trip to the venue in December… and that was a game in which they were reduced to 10 men on the stroke of half time.
Tip: Aberdeen Over 2.5 Corners @ 4/6 (Bet365)
Explanation: Our bet lands if Aberdeen win three or more corners.
Celtic v Aberdeen: Match result odds
These odds, correct at the time of publication, are subject to change.