Following the international break, Celtic have three league games before they face arch rivals Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final.
There have been many question marks thrown at Celtic this season with the club having failed to build upon their emphatic treble winning campaign last time out.
In terms of league position, and trophies won so far, nothing separates this year from last, but it is the manner in which they have gone about their business on a domestic scale which has led to much criticism over the past eight months.
Brendan Rodgers’ men went unbeaten last term, carrying their run into this season, eventually coming to and end when they were defeated by Hearts after 69 games without a loss. Since then, they have lost one further fixture to Kilmarnock and were in danger of losing their lead at the top of the table to just three points when they faced Rangers earlier this month.
A strong performance against Rangers, however, coming from behind twice with only 10 men, reminded the rest of the country exactly why they are champions and still by far the standout team in Scotland.
With a game in hand over second place Rangers and a 10 points gap at the top of the table, the league feels all but officially won, leaving the Scottish Cup as the only real challenge in terms of securing back to back domestic trebles.
With three league games leading up to the crunch cup semi-final against Rangers at Hampden, let us take a look at how the next four games will likely go for the Scottish champions.
First up, this Saturday the Celts will return to domestic action against bottom of the league Ross County at home. Ross County have really struggled this season, with only five wins from 30 games so far, and anything other than a Celtic win would come as a huge surprise.
Both times the sides have met this season have ended with a Celtic win, and not many people could confidently predict anything other than that this weekend.
Prediction: Celtic win
Next up, the Hoops host another struggling team in Dundee, who currently sit third bottom, with a three point cushion keeping them afloat from the relegation positions. Like Ross County, Celtic have defeated the Dee on both of their meetings this season, and the fixture should be a routine win for Brendan Rodgers’ side.
That being said, Neil McCann’s men have put up a decent fight against the Celts on both occasions so far this term, and will take confidence from that going into the game next month. Should they keep it tight at the back, the Dee are more than capable of grinding out a draw, especially when Celtic don’t quite turn up to play which has been a regular occurrence this season.
Prediction: Draw
The Hoops face a trip to New Douglas Park as their warm up for the Scottish Cup semi-final to take on yet another league struggler in Hamilton Academical. Accies currently sit fourth bottom, although their two games in hand could see them climb up to eighth place assuming that they pick up all six points.
Martin Canning’s men will have been devastated to have lost Greg Docherty to Rangers after such a strong showing from the youngster in the earlier stages of the season, and will surely not be going into the Celtic game with a lot of confidence considering their lack of a dominant goal scorer. Rakish Bingham is currently the club’s top scorer with three strikes in the league so far. As a result, another three points should be on the cards for the Bhoys.
Prediction: Celtic win
If the last Old Firm derby was the biggest game of the season so far, this game will take things to a whole new level. What a Rangers win would mean to the club, denying Celtic the chance to win a second consecutive treble, is not even describable for the blue half of Glasgow. The fact that the Hoops face three of the worst sides in Scotland as their warm up may not be such a great thing for Brendan Rodgers, and Graeme Murty and co will be throwing the kitchen sink at the Celts as they attempt to record a first victory of the season over their rivals.
However, no matter what the current Rangers squad can conjure up, Celtic’s last outing at Ibrox was a sheer demonstration of the gulf in class between the two sides, and nothing that Rangers can produce will be something that Celtic cannot handle.
That being said, Celtic still need to turn up and perform well if they are to beat Rangers, who have proven themselves to be a solid footballing outfit since the turn of the year, despite some disappointing results. The whole country will be watching on with eye peeled, but if previous games this season is anything to go by, it would be difficult to predict anything other than Celtic reaching the final.
Prediction: Celtic win
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