The 2023/24 Scottish Premiership campaign for Celtic officially got underway on August 5th. Since then, they have played four league games and are sat at the top of the table.
An important 1-0 win came against fierce rivals Rangers, but they haven’t looked convincing in their games. The question being asked here is, are Celtic struggling under Brendan Rodgers? Let’s take a closer look and find out.
How have Celtic fared so far under Rodgers?
In their opening game of the season, Celtic hosted Ross County at their home ground, Celtic Park. It took just 17 minutes for David Turnbull to put the home side ahead before Kyogo Furuhashi made it 2 after 26 minutes. Just before half-time in the 42nd minute, Turnbull scored his second goal of the match to make it 3-0.
The final score ended 4-2 Celtic, and they looked confident in their first game. In their second game, they travelled away to Aberdeen, beating them 3-1, before losing 1-0 away to Kilmarnock in game three. They could also only manage a goalless draw in their next game at home to St. Johnstone.
The important result was the 1-0 away win to Rangers, which pleased the Celtic faithful. It’s still early days, and Rodgers will no doubt be trying out several new tactics, so it’s unfair to say that Celtic are struggling under Rodgers.
In fact, many of today’s most trusted online bookmakers have Celtic as the odds-on favourite team to win the 2023/24 Scottish Premiership campaign outright.
A closer look at the odds
After claiming your 32red sport sign up offer on the official 32red sports betting site (which also has over 1,500 casino games from 10+ market-leading providers), you will have access to some of the iGaming industry’s most competitive sports betting odds.
Here are some of the latest odds, but don’t forget that they are subject to change at any time:
- Celtic – 1/2 odds-on favourite, meaning the implied probability rate of them going on to win the league outright is a whopping 66.70%
- Rangers FC – 6/4, with a 40% chance of winning
- Aberdeen – 125/1, with only a 0.80% chance of winning
There’s also Hearts (125/1), Hibernian (250/1), Motherwell (250/1), St Mirren (350/1), Kilmarnock (500/1), and Livingston (750/1). Dundee FC, Ross County, and St Johnstone are all currently priced at 1000/1.
What are their chances in the UEFA Champions League?
Although it looks good for Celtic at home in the domestic league, it’s not looking too good for them in the UEFA Champions League. They ended up in group E with Feyenoord, Atletico Madrid, and Lazio.
Their first Champions League game is on September 19th against Feyenoord away. Their second game in the Champions League is at home to Lazio on October 4th, and then on October 25th, they are at home to Atletico Madrid.
If you were to place a wager on Celtic right now to win the UEFA Champions League 2023/24 outright, you would be looking at average odds of around 250/1, meaning they only have around a 0.40% chance of actually winning.
In comparison, the odds-on favourite team to win this year’s Champions League final are Manchester City again, priced at 9/4, meaning they have a 30.80% chance of winning.
Final note
The thing to remember when placing sports bets is that, in football, anything can happen and that no bets you place are ever guaranteed to return you a profit, no matter how certain they appear.
The best thing to do would be to set a budget before placing wagers and then take the time to learn the different bet types/markets and the odds. Never chase your losses; try to gamble responsibly by placing strategic bets, taking regular breaks, and staying within your budget.