Celtic vs Dunfermline Predictions

Dunfermline Athletic will travel to Glasgow on Saturday as they are hosted by reigning champions Celtic at Celtic Park. Can the Pars cause an early-round upset?

Celtic return to Parkhead following a disastrous game after their exit from the Champions League qualifiers during the week. The Hoops only needed a win against a half-decent CFR Cluj side after a 1-1 draw in the 1^st leg, but the Romanian outfit got the better of them.

The hosts went 1-0 up just under the half-hour mark, before James Forrest and Odsonne Édouard score twice to put Neil Lennon’s side back in control. Cluj would then convert a penalty with 15 minutes left, only for Ryan Christie to score almost instantly to make it 3-2. Omrani then scored a mere 4 minutes later to bring the teams level once again, and the visitors then sealed the deal as they scored a 4^th and final goal as Celtic tried in vain to score again.

The last time Celtic were beaten at home was in the Europa League against Valencia, and the Hoops had gone undefeated in their following 10 games up until Tuesday night. Moreover, the Glasgow club has been on fire recently, scoring for fun against Nõmme Kalju and St Johnstone- and even against Cluj.

On the flip side, Dunfermline Athletic have had a decent start to the new season, as they currently stand on 2 points after their first couple of Championship games. Their most recent outing was a 1-1 draw with Queen of the South in a tie that could have gone either way.

The Pars opened the scoring thanks to an early strike by Kyle Turner, his 3^rd goal in 5 games, and the visitors then took a hold of the game. It was a fairly even affair, as the sides shared an almost equal amount of possession, with Dunfermline taking 10 shots, of which only 5 ended up on target. Gary Oliver would come in to save his side, as the Pars conceded with just under half an hour to go.

Stevie Crawford’s side still searches for its first win of the Championship season, although they did manage to win 3 of their 4 League Cup group stage games, racking up an impressive tally of 13 goals whilst only conceding 3 times.

Despite their result and an early exit from the Champions League on Tuesday, it was merely a glitch in the otherwise dominant matrix that is domestic competitions for Celtic. It’s unlikely that the Hoops will field their strongest XI for this game, as they boast the home advantage and the fact that Dunfermline are, with all due respect, a much weaker side on paper. The Pars can only dream of causing an upset here but seeing some of Celtic more recent performances- namely their games against Cluj and their first-half performance against Motherwell on Saturday- could give the Fife side a little more confidence. We’re going to back Celtic to win to nil here, as the Hoops have conceded in just 3 of their last 7 home games, with a final score of 4-0 and for Mikey Johnston to get his name on the scoresheet.