Scottish Football Betting Preview: Celtic target revenge at Kilmarnock

Scottish Football / John Girvan / 12 March 2010 / Leave a Comment

Robbie Keane made his Celtic debut in a 1-0 defeat against Kilmarnock

"Kilmarnock are [8.8] for a repeat of that sensational win in February which ended a run of 14 consecutive Celtic [1.42] wins at Rugby Park."

It's quarter-final time in the cup where John Girvan is backing Keane and co to avenge defeat at Rugby Park. Meanwhile, don't expect a cracker at Ibrox but do back Motherwell to continue their sparkling form in the SPL.

Last weekend was a disaster. The first two of the five point washout occurred when a superb Graham Carey free-kick put St Mirren one up at Ibrox on Saturday and messed up the Rangers clean sheet. Another two points were shipped at Falkirk on Sunday where a Celtic clean sheet gave little chance for four goals or more. Things were tight at Tannadice later that afternoon but a late Morgaro Gomis strike ended hopes of a draw.

Profit/Loss: - 8.68 pts

It's Active Nation Scottish Cup quarter-final Weekend in Scotland but there are three SPL ties on top of this so plenty of opportunities to claw back last weekend's losses!

The first piece of action where the Cup is concerned is Celtic's visit to Kilmarnock on Saturday for a 12:15pm kick-off. The Sky Sports 2 clash is a revenge mission for Celtic after a recent 1-0 Rugby Park defeat effectively de-railed Tony Mowbray's title challenge.

Killie boss Jimmy Calderwood was appointed in January and was doing quite well initially but one point from their last four league games is potentially dragging the Ayrshire outfit into the relegation fight.

Rangers won 2-0 here on Tuesday night but the hosts were equal to the task in a goalless first half and will pose more of a threat if Simon Ford, Craig Bryson and especially Kevin Kyle all make an expected return.

Celtic have been leaking goals all season but two clean sheets in the last three suggests they are improving. Robbie Keane has SPL game-time under his belt and the Irishman looks well placed to build on last week's double at Falkirk. Back him to score first at [5.2].

Kilmarnock are [8.8] for a repeat of that sensational win in February which ended a run of 14 consecutive Celtic [1.42] wins at Rugby Park. There was euphoria over the loan capture of Keane the previous day and the result came as a big shock. But I see a return to the norm on Saturday with Mowbray's men giving little away and scoring at least a couple on a big open surface. Back Celtic -1.5 in the Asian Handicap at [2.3].

Rangers bid for a place in the last four takes place at Ibrox on Sunday where Dundee United were mauled 7-1 in December. This occurred when The Gers were on a real hot streak and despite being in similar form results wise they are getting the job done much less emphatically these days.

This is a tie between two sides in form. The Terrors have three wins from four whilst the league leaders are on a relentless charge for the title having won four on the bounce in the league and five in all competitions. The game is live on BBC2 Scotland with a rather uninspiring 12:05 kick-off and this plays right into the hands of United. Ibrox will be less than half full and in turn the game will most likely be quite flat. The visitors will be on their guard, I'm not expecting a good cup tie and I feel it's worth backing Under 2.5 goals at [2.22]

Dundee United and Hibernian are both in Cup action this week so it gives Motherwell the chance to put a cat amongst two pigeons looking to venture into Europe next season. A home win over Hearts won't be easy but the incentive is there given they can leapfrog Hibs and go level on points with United albeit with both having two games in hand.

Craig Brown is doing a marvelous job at Fir Park. Seven league wins and three draws from 10 since a Scottish Cup exit at Inverness in January says it all. His side have good recent home form with four wins and a draw from their last six and they have managed this despite scoring only seven goals.

Given Hearts lack of firepower (just seven from their last six away trips) it points to Under 2.5 goals at [1.68].

Recommended bets:

Celtic -1.0 @ [2.3] (2pts)
Robbie Keane 1st goal scorer @ [5.2] (1pt)
Rangers v Dundee Utd: Under 2.5 goals @ [2.22] (1pt)
Motherwell v Hearts: Under 2.5 goals @ [1.68] (1pt)