Hibernian and Celtic face off at the Easter Road Stadium on Sunday in their Scottish Premiership match of the season as the hosts start their campaign with an hopes for getting their first victory while Celtic will be looking for a victory to continue their title defence.
They lost their first match 3-0 to St Mirren while the coming team won their first match with 4-0 to Kilmarnock.
Hibernian were third in 2020-21 and will be frustrated with variability in the three subsequent leagues, at eighth, fifth, and eighth.
Their form has improved since the later part of last season and they have won 7 of their last 11 matches inclusive of friendly matches.
David Gray must have fancied a hardworking performance against a St Mirren side that booked their place in the European qualification this season; however, Hibernians’ resulted in a dire 3-0 loss.
The match was not all bad for Gray however, his team had more control with the ball and completed more shots than St Mirren, fifteen to nine; But could now use his team to be more precise with their shots.
Celtic on the other hand took their excellent and arguably better pre-season form from last year into the new season and making a emphatic start to their Scottish Premiership this year by thrashing Kilmarnock 4-0.
That result takes them on a run of 18 competitive games without defeat, and out of their last 33 games, they have lost only two, both to Hearts.
This start of the season will give Brendan Rodgers a lot of joy as he will be aspiring to take the side to another successive Premier League title, and their 13th in the last 14 years.
Celtic have always relished this fixture having only lost one of the last matches 22, a 4-2 loss at Easter Road Stadium in 2023 while record 14 wins.
Thody Elie Youan, who had a leg injury in July, will not play for Hibernian in this match; otherwise, Gray will have his whole roster at his disposal.
Marvin Ekpiteta, Warren O'Hora, and goalkeeper Josef Bursik all received debuts during Hibernian's previous game, and it is probable that all three will start this one.
Because of his ongoing absence due to an injured knee, Daizen Maeda is unavailable to Celtic. James Forrest, Kyogo Furuhashi, and Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn are expected to start in the front three.
The club's top player from the previous season, Matt O'Riley, who scored 31 goals in the league alone, has been strongly connected to leaving this summer, but the midfielder performed admirably in the season's opening match and is probably going to return.
Celtic began their title defense impressively and will be aiming for a second consecutive victory when they visit Hibernian on Sunday. This game features teams at opposite ends of the standings, and here’s our preview and prediction for the matchup.
Hibernian faces a daunting challenge as they attempt to bounce back from their 3-0 loss to St. Mirren on Match Day 1. Their prospects aren’t helped by the fact that they haven’t won in their last three encounters with Celtic.
In fact, Hibs lost the last two meetings, though they rarely fail to find the net in this fixture. In four of their previous five clashes with Celtic, both teams scored. However, Hibernian has only secured one win in 21 matches against Celtic, a 4-2 victory in May 2023.
Celtic kicked off their season with a 4-0 win against Kilmarnock. The champions quickly found their rhythm, carrying their strong preseason form into the league. Playing away won't be a concern for the Bhoys.
