Celtic will welcome Hibernian to Celtic Park this Monday night as Scottish football returns following its winter break that was brought forward to prevent the postponements that were running riot on the division.
Three weeks on from this, Celtic remain six points behind the champions Rangers and still within a great shout of upsetting the odds in due course and heading to the top of the table.
⌛ ̶W̶I̶N̶T̶E̶R̶ ̶B̶R̶E̶A̶K̶ 🍀The Bhoys prepare for #CELHIB and the return of football! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/hohmL25fr6— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) January 13, 2022
⌛ ̶W̶I̶N̶T̶E̶R̶ ̶B̶R̶E̶A̶K̶ 🍀The Bhoys prepare for #CELHIB and the return of football! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/hohmL25fr6
The Gers still are the team to beat, but given how the Hoops seem to have found new life all of a sudden, the title race has got more intriguing.
The club are now nine games unbeaten in all competitions, which even involves wins over the likes of the high-flying Real Betis in the Europa League. Also, within these clashes, the Glasgow side actually beat Hibs 2-1 in the Scottish League Cup final when Kyogo Furuhashi scored twice in the second half.
Paul Hanlon would give the Edinburgh outfit the league on 51 minutes, but the Japan star brought it back level a minute later, only to snatch the win 20 minutes on. Celtic did dominate much of the game and their 66% of possession and 17 shots only echo this further.
Back in the Scottish Premier League, at home is where much of the form has come for the 51-times champions as they are yet to lose a fixture on home soil this league season.
Only Rangers boasts a better home record than Ange Postecoglou's men, with them winning eight compared to Celtic's seven, however, they have played an extra two games at home.
As for Hibs, their away record isn't that great either, with three wins , three draws and four defeats away from their own patch. It's also brought in just 12 goals and the same amount conceded, but it has helped them into a commendable fifth in the league table.
With the Old Firm coming up in a matter of weeks, if Celtic want any hope remaining by that time of winning the title, a win in each game is an absolute must. Furthermore, if the form of players like Furuhashi and Liel Abada continues, there should be no major concern for them.
Forebet predicts a win for Celtic here in a game that will see under 2.5 goals with Hibs boasting a relatively decent defensive record this season, just as the Hoops continue to rack up the goals.