26 Sept 2019
SATURDAY 3PM CLUB OFFER AVAILABLE HERE!
Recent Form
Since an opening day win over fellow strugglers St Mirren, Hibs have lost four of five winless matches and conceded a minimum of two in each of these outings.
The heaviest thrashing they received came at the hands of Rangers (6-1) and so the visit of Celtic must be a daunting prospect for them.
The Gers are the only team that have come close to matching the output of Neil Lennon’s men, with their 16 goals still short of the 21 plundered by the Hoops, so this game has the potential to get ugly for the hosts.
Hibernian can at least take encouragement from past encounters when hosting Celtic. Since December 2017, they’ve gone an impressive W2-D2-L1 in such fixtures across all competitions, though of course having achieved fourth and fifth placed finishes in 2017/18 and 18/19 respectively, they were clearly playing much better football at the time.
Hibs Defensive Issues
In the new campaign, Hibs have hardly been sensational in attack, but it’s the teams’ defensive effort that’s really costing them as only St. Johnstone (17) have conceded more than their 15.
The only reason they’re not out on their own in that regard is due to the disastrous 7-0 defeat the Saints suffered away at Celtic on the opening day, but Hibs will be concerned by the lack of bite in midfield that’s left their backline so vulnerable and exposed.
Paul Heckingbottom could call upon the likes of Mark Milligan and Stephane Omeonga in the middle of the park last term, but those two are now at Southend and Cercle Brugge respectively, while Stevie Mallan hasn’t been at his best so far this season.
Milligan in particular was a big loss and Hibs have failed to effectively replace his defensive instincts and experience in midfield.
Celtic -1 Handicap
As a result, teams have found it too easy to hit Hibs on the counter, which is a problem exacerbated by the departure of fellow midfield enforcer Marvin Bartley this summer as he moved to Livingston after his contract expired.
This loss of control in the centre of the pitch is fatal and especially up against a team that can command a game from that area like Celtic, who have won all but one of their matches this season by a minimum of two clear goals and look good value to do just that again.
BETTING PREVIEW AND TIPS FOR ALL OF THE TOP LEAGUES HERE!
About Genting Casino
Genting Casino is owned by Genting Casinos UK Limited, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Genting Malaysia Berhad, which has interests in leisure and hospitality, power generation, oil and gas, property development, life sciences and biotechnology activities, with operations spanning across the globe, including in Malaysia (the Group’s country of origin), Singapore, Indonesia, India, China, the United States of America, Bahamas, the United Kingdom and Egypt.
In the core leisure and hospitality business, the Genting Group and its brand affiliates, offer a suite of products under a number of premier brands including Genting Casino featuring the exclusive Crockfords, Resorts World, Genting Grand, Genting Club, Crystal Cruises, Dream Cruises and Star Cruises.
The Genting Group of companies also have tie ups with established names such as Universal Studios®, Premium Outlets®, Hard Rock Hotel, Zouk and other renowned international brand partners.
Genting Casino offers a first class sports betting experience for the UK online sport betting customer, while our casino provides hundreds of the latest online slots and our exclusive Genting tables streamed directly to your device or desktop from our flagship UK casino’s like Crockfords!
If you are after a premium online gaming experience with a company that puts the customer first and takes responsible gaming very seriously, then why not open an account and give Genting Casino a try.
