- 1 Celtic vs Kilmarnock: a Falkirk defeat, a Besiktas comeback and the league’s leakiest defence
- 2 Celtic: top of the table, but conceding in six straight games
- 3 Kilmarnock: 28 conceded, but goals in four of their last five league games
- 4 Free Football Prediction: Celtic vs Kilmarnock
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
Celtic vs Kilmarnock: a Falkirk defeat, a Besiktas comeback and the league’s leakiest defence 
Falkirk beat Celtic 2-0 last Sunday. Ethan Ross scored after three minutes, Scott Tanser added the second on 38, and it was Celtic’s first defeat to Falkirk since 2007.
Four days later Martin O’Neill’s side beat Besiktas 3-2 at Celtic Park in the Europa League. Osmand scored within a minute of coming off the bench, and Camilo Duran got the other two, the second an 87th-minute winner.
Kilmarnock are next, at Celtic Park on Sunday 8 November, kick-off 16:00 UK time, in gameweek 13 of the Scottish Premiership. Celtic are top on 28 points from 12 games. Rangers are second on 24 with a game in hand, so a win would put Celtic seven clear for at least a few days.
Neil McCann’s Kilmarnock are 11th on nine points, with two wins, three draws and seven defeats. Their 28 goals conceded is the worst total in the division, 2.33 a game.
The fixture itself hasn’t been close for a while. Celtic have won the last nine meetings in all competitions, including a 5-1 win at Rugby Park on 9 August, and Kilmarnock haven’t won a league game at Celtic Park since October 2012.
Everyone expects a home win. I’m more interested in what happens at the other end, because Celtic haven’t kept a clean sheet in their last six matches.
Celtic: top of the table, but conceding in six straight games 
The 7-1 win over Hearts on 18 October looked like the start of a run. Since then Celtic have lost 2-1 at home to Celta Vigo, won 2-1 at Hibernian, drawn 2-2 at home to Dundee United, lost 2-0 at Falkirk and beaten Besiktas 3-2.
That’s nine goals conceded in five matches after the Hearts game, and a goal against in every one of the last six counting Hearts. The league record of 27 scored and 10 conceded in 12 still reads well, but the recent defending doesn’t.
Duran is the man in form. He had seven league goals going into the Besiktas game, then added two more. Nygren has six in the league and Kasper Hogh, signed from Bodo/Glimt in July, has three, all of them in that win at Rugby Park in August.
Alistair Johnston and Yang Hyun-Jun are both out and expected back in the coming weeks. No new injuries came out of Thursday night, and Forrest and Tounekti may drop out of the squad.
O’Neill, confirmed as manager on 11 June, has lost two league games all season: 1-0 at home to Rangers and the Falkirk defeat. Celtic have won nine of their 12.
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Kilmarnock: 28 conceded, but goals in four of their last five league games 
Kilmarnock drew 2-2 at home to St Johnstone last Saturday, with McCarthy and Daniels scoring. They played almost the whole game against ten men after St Johnstone goalkeeper Toby Steward was sent off in the 13th minute, and still couldn’t win it.
Before that they lost 3-1 at Dundee on 28 October and 3-0 at Falkirk on 24 October. Those are three straight away defeats, and the away record for the season reads one win, one draw and four defeats, with six scored and 13 conceded.
The attack isn’t dead, though. Kilmarnock have scored in four of their last five league games: 3-1 at Rangers, 3-2 against Motherwell, 3-1 at Dundee and 2-2 against St Johnstone. Only the Falkirk game ended without a goal.
Kiltie leads them with three league goals and Hugill has two, with four goal involvements in all. They also scored in their last two meetings with Celtic: 2-3 at home in February and the 1-5 at Rugby Park in August, when Schjonning-Larsen pulled one back on 56 minutes.
Bailey Rice and goalkeeper Maksymilian Stryjek are both missing. McCann, in charge since January 2026, has won 36% of his matches.
Probable lineup Celtic: Johnstone; Lotomba, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney; Nygren, McGregor, Baur; Duran, Hogh, Osmand
Probable lineup Kilmarnock: Mantl; McCarthy, Deas, Stanger; Brandon, Tshibola, Lowery, Ring; Kiltie; Hugill, Daniels
Free Football Prediction: Celtic vs Kilmarnock
Our prediction: Both teams to score (odds 1.75)
Celtic at 1.18 isn’t a price worth taking, and the bigger handicap lines ask a lot of a side that has conceded in six straight matches. The goal that interests me is the one at Celtic’s end.
Kilmarnock have scored in four of their last five league games and in both of their last two meetings with Celtic. Celtic have let in nine in their five games since thrashing Hearts, including two at Falkirk and two at home to both Dundee United and Besiktas.
The case against is obvious: Kilmarnock have the worst defence in the league and may spend long spells without the ball. But Celtic will score here, and with their back line conceding at this rate, both teams to score at 1.75 is the bet.
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