Scottish Football Betting: Celtic go for "nine in a row"

Scottish Football / John Girvan / 11 November 2008 / Leave a Comment

Jock Stein led Celtic to nine consecutive league championships between 1966 and 1974 and this week Celtic's class of 2008 have the chance to go some way to replicating that by winning their ninth consecutive league match. John Girvan talks us through that and the remainder of the midweek action north of the border.

Injury ravaged Celtic go for "nine-in-a-row", Rangers look to build momentum at Fir Park whilst Aberdeen, Hearts and Dundee United could all claim home wins.

"Nine-in-a-row" is a phrase synonymous with Scottish Football. Jock Stein led Celtic to nine consecutive league championships between 1966 and 1974. This established both a Scottish and World Record that was not equalled until 1997 when Walter Smith, in his first spell as Ibrox boss, led Rangers to the same feat. Celtic fans have it on the tip of their tongues again this week as victory at home to Kilmarnock on Wednesday could spell nine consecutive league wins.

It was a tired performance on Saturday in the 2-0 win over Motherwell at Celtic Park and the league leaders' extensive injury list is getting longer. Artur Boruc went under the knife of Monday and both Shaun Maloney and Shunsuke Nakamura could also be out for the visit of Kilmarnock on Wednesday. Manager Gordon Strachan will be thankful his side have a home fixture and even more grateful that the opposition is Kilmarnock given the Ayrshire men are soldiering on with a depleted squad also.

Jim Jeffries' side lost heavily at home to Rangers on Sunday and the manager was highly critical of his side, particularly his two centre-halves, in the post-match interview. The manager has watched his side lose 4-0, given them a public dressing down and now it's his job to pick them up again and motivate them for a trip to the current champions who have won their last eight league matches. Jeffries is a good manager, probably a future Scotland boss and maybe the public outburst is his way of firing up his side ahead of Wednesday night.

It remains a tall order for Killie however and if Celtic were at full strength a heavy defeat could have been on the cards. They aren't of course but they still have enough quality on show to make sure of the points. Backing Celtic at [1.24] is the only option in the match odds as [7.0] for the draw and [18.5] for an away win tells you everything you need to know about the task facing Kilmarnock.

What kind of Celtic victory we will see is harder to predict however and Celtic/Celtic in the Half Time/Full Time Market, like we seen on Saturday, is very short at [1.68]. This might be best avoided and given the injuries so might the Asian Handicap Market. Jeffries is infamous for putting 10 men behind the ball at times when his sides face the Old Firm, especially away from home. He might take this approach on Wednesday and if so there is some value in Draw/Celtic at [5.1].

Rangers travel to Lanarkshire on Wednesday evening to face Motherwell and the match is being screened live on Setanta Sports. There have been five Fir Park league meetings between the sides in the last three seasons. Three away wins on the trot were followed by two 1-1 draws last season and Rangers really need to make it third time lucky to stay in touch with leaders Celtic.

Walter Smith was dealt a blow after an otherwise pleasing day at Kilmarnock on Sunday with the news that midfielder Kevin Thomson is out for the rest of the season. Scans have revealed that the 24 year-old has ligament damage and his absence puts an end to the speculation about the Rangers midfield set up with captain Barry Ferguson's return coinciding with Thomson's ill fortune.

Form-wise Motherwell are doing ok and before Saturday's defeat at Celtic Park they were on a run of four wins from their last six games including a trip to Ibrox. Rangers have stuttered recently but the manner of the victory at Killie suggests they have recovered and the side have shown good form away from home so far this season but they will be tested on Wednesday of that there is little doubt. David Clarkson has found the net against both of the Old Firm this season but the striker is suspended after his straight red card at the weekend and the Scotland International is a big loss to the home side here and this might alert Rangers clean sheet backers to the [2.4] that is available.

Rangers are [1.56] in the match odds and although this is a little short they should still take home the three points here. It's a different Rangers from last season, they are creating lots of chances in front of goal and Kris Boyd is also on form with six goals in four matches since being restored to the side. Confident Rangers backer might even fancy Ranger -1.0 in the Asian Handicap at [1.95].

Elsewhere Aberdeen ([1.8]), Hearts ([1.67)] and Dundee United ([2.02]) all look capable of home victories. The slowly improving Dons face a St Mirren side struggling for goals, having failed to score in their last three league ties. Saints manager Gus McPherson has stated "I look at Aberdeen's squad and I see proven SPL players" - this should be the difference on Tuesday night. Hearts won at Love Street at the weekend and unsurprisingly find themselves odds on to make it two wins out of two for the first time this season. This shouldn't be too difficult given Hamilton are low in confidence, have only one point to show from their last six outings, and sit rock bottom of the table.

Dundee United should solidify their current position as the leagues 3rd best side with a win over Hibernian. The Arabs' last league defeat came at Easter Road in September but they haven't looked back in the seven ties since with draws at Ibrox and The Falkirk Stadium their only faults. Hibs are struggling a bit at present, I expected them to turn things around at home to Inverness at the weekend but they missed a penalty and were outdone by two breakaway goals. Things just aren't going their way and Wednesday night's trip to Tannadice looks like taking their winless run to five matches.