St Johnstone v Celtic: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Celtic will know they can take nothing for granted when they face underdogs St Johnstone in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park on Sunday.

The Saints might well be staring down the barrel of relegation from the Scottish Premiership but they stunned champions-elect Celtic at McDiarmid Park earlier this month with a 1-0 victory.

Daniels Balodis scored the decisive goal in just the fourth minute to hand St Johnstone the victory in Perth.

Saints could use another battling performance in the Scottish Cup semi-final on Sunday but it’s likely their hopes of reaching the final will come to an abrupt end against Brendan Rodgers’ side.

St Johnstone v Celtic betting tips and predictions

Celtic to win and both teams to score - 2/1

Seeing a four-game winning streak against St Johnstone brought to an end earlier this month, Celtic will be looking for retribution when they face the Saints at Hampden this weekend.

The Hoops are understandably firm favourites to get back to winning ways against the Perth outfit, however, there is value to be had in siding with a Celtic victory in which both teams get on the scoresheet.

Celtic are once again missing first-choice keeper Kasper Schmeichel as he continues to recover from a shoulder injury.

Back-up Viljami Sinisalo will again start between the sticks but Celtic don’t look as solid at the back with the Finnish shotstopper in goal.

Conceding goals against St Johnstone and Kilmarnock in their last two outings, St Johnstone should fancy their chances of finding a way past Sinisalo this weekend, even if it’s in a losing cause against the Scottish Cup holders.

Daizen Maeda first goalscorer - 3/1

Having scored in two of the three meetings between these sides in the Premiership this season, Daizen Maeda is attractively priced to open the scoring in Sunday’s semi-final in Glasgow.

The Japanese forward finds himself in great form going into this game, having found the back of the net in seven of Celtic’s last eight games in all competitions.

Given his recent record and his habit of scoring against St Johnstone this season, the 3/1 for Maeda to score the opening goal makes plenty of appeal.

Jason Holt to be booked - 2/1

With Celtic expected to have plenty of the ball in this cup clash at Hampden Park, St Johnstone will need to do plenty of running on Sunday.

Frustrations could boil over in the middle of the park and Jason Holt to be booked is worth considering at odds of 2/1.

Holt has picked up seven yellow cards and one red in the Premiership already this season, and only one player has received more bookings for St Johnstone in the league this term.

Having been shown a yellow card in the last meeting between these sides at McDiarmid Park ealier this month, there would be little surprise in seeing Holt booked again against the Hoops this weekend.

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St Johnstone v Celtic odds

St Johnstone - 10/1
Draw - 15/2
Celtic - 1/6

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.