In their first game of the 2024-25 Scottish Premiership, Celtic are set to begin their title defence against Kilmarnock at Celtic Park on Sunday.
The home side won the league last term with 93 points from 38 games, while the visitors finished fourth with 56 points and made the Europa League qualifiers.
Match preview
The hosts won the Scottish Premiership once again, and last season's triumph was their third consecutive league win, as well as their 54th top-flight title overall.
Celtic scored 95 goals and conceded 30 times in the 2023-24 league campaign, and this made them the division's best offensive and defensive team.
The Bhoys also won the 2023–24 iteration of the Scottish Cup and beat fierce rivals Rangers 1-0 in the final on May 25 thanks to a winner from Adam Idah in the 90th minute.
Interestingly, manager Brendan Rodgers has hinted that he has concerns about the quality of the squad compared to last season.
His comments are strangely timed considering his side have been excellent in their pre-season friendlies, with notable wins against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City and Enzo Maresca's Chelsea being standout results.
Their 4-1 success against Chelsea on July 27 was particularly impressive, as Celtic were winning 4-0 until Christopher Nkunku scored a consolation goal from a penalty in the 89th minute.
Celtic's overall form heading into the game has been excellent considering they have won 13 of their last 16 90-minute matches and have not lost in any game since their defeat against Hearts on March 3.
Their record at Celtic Park is also exceptional, as demonstrated by the fact they only lost one Premiership game last season at home, and have in fact only lost once in their last 63 top-flight matches at their headquarters.
They have also won 15 of their last 16 league openers and will head into the game full of confidence.
Opponents Kilmarnock were one of only two teams to beat Celtic in the league last season, winning 2-1 at home on December 10.
The visitors also drew 1-1 with them on February 17 and have only lost against the hosts twice in their last five encounters.
Kilmarnock scored 46 goals and conceded 44 times in the top-flight last season, and these records were the league's joint eighth-best offensive and joint fourth-best defensive records respectively.
Killie will have been delighted with their showing in the 2023-24 campaign considering they bettered 2022-23's points total by 16.
Manager Derek McInnes has been in charge since January 2022, when his team were in the Scottish Championship.
McInnes's side were eliminated from the 2024-25 Europa League qualifiers earlier this summer, losing 2-1 on aggregate against Cercle Brugge.
It should also be noted that Kilmarnock have a poor away record and have only won three times in their last 13 matches on the road.
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- L
