CELTIC start the defence of their ninth successive Scottish Premiership title at home to Hamilton on Sunday. Daniel McCulloch (@DMcCulloch1984) shares his favourite fancies.
Celtic vs Hamilton | Sunday 2nd August 2020, 16:30 | Sky Sports
Nine-in-a-row champions Celtic begin their SPL campaign against a Hamilton side who finished second bottom last season and outright prices of 1/10 on a home victory therefore make sense but hold little appeal.
Instead, I will turn my attentions to the correct score market. While I expect Celtic to win this encounter, I would be surprised if they produced a vintage display. Lessons from the English Premier League and the Championship suggest that the opening round of fixtures in behind closed door matches are unlikely to produce goals, with many sides taking a while to get going, in what were generally cagey affairs.
Indeed, across the first 24 matches in the those divisions there were just 54 goals at an average of 2.25 – well below the usual average of 2.6.
With this in mind, I will back the Hoops to win both 2-0 and 3-0. A 2-0 scoreline is 6/1 with BetVictor. This was Celtic’s most common method of success, winning in this manner in five of their 26 victories last term.
Additionally, I like the look of a 3-0 home victory, at 11/2 with the same firm. Celtic have won three of their last 11 games with Hamilton by this margin and I can see them making it four of 12 on Sunday.
Best Bets
Celtic vs Hamilton – Celtic to win 2-0 (6/1 BetVictor)
Celtic vs Hamilton – Celtic to win 3-0 (11/2 BetVictor)
