Celtic vs Kilmarnock Prediction: Title defense begins for Celtic

The previous season's league winner, Celtic, will take on Kilmarnock at Celtic Park in the opening round of the Scottish Premiership. Heading into this new season, Celtic enter as overwhelming favorites, while Kilmarnock are road underdogs. Below, I will look at the two teams’ forms and make predictions. 

Celtic won the league last season with 78 points, three more than their closest rivals, Rangers. Celtic scored 80 league goals that season while conceding just 26, the second-fewest behind Rangers who scored 23.

However, their preseason form into this season was brilliant, with four wins and one draw against Ayr. In their wins, they had significant performances against English Premiership sides Manchester City and Chelsea, securing 3-4 and 1-4 wins, respectively. Heading into this fixture, Celtic have an unbeaten run of games, 17, winning 15 and drawing two of those games.

Kilmarnock will hope for a better record this season, having only had 56 points the previous season. In that season, Kilmarnock finished 4th, scoring 46 goals and conceding 44 in 38 matches. However, their season ended with a 1-1 draw with Dundee FC, which was not a bad result on the road. 

Ahead of this season, Kilmarnock had just lost to Cercle Brugge in the Europa League qualification encounter, playing to a 1-1 draw at home in the first leg before a 1-0 defeat on the road in the second leg. However, their recent match outcome reads three wins, three defeats and one draw. 

Celtic are still the best side in the league, and from what we have witnessed from them in the preseason, it is tough to write off winning the league. While Kilmarnock have not had luck in this fixture with just two wins in their last ten meetings, being on the road will be a huge disadvantage. All indications point to Celtic winning, and with a full squad expected to be fielded into this game, a win for them with goals is a good option.