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Celtic will be a little bruised following their 4-1 defeat to Stuttgart in the Europa League during the week, but I don’t think that result in isolation will be enough to derail their push for the title in what is an intriguing three horse race. 

The most important factor in the title race at the moment is the game in hand that Celtic have on both Rangers and Hearts. Hearts play a day before, so they could open up a five point gap at the top of the league if they can find a way past Falkirk. Rangers play last of the trio, so Celtic can add to the pressure on Danny Rohl’s side in what looks to be a potentially awkward clash away against Livingston. 

Celtic ran out 2-1 winners over Hibernian when the sides clashed earlier in the season, and have the quality to repeat that result here. Celtic have won 10 of their 13 games at home in the Scottish Premiership this term, the best home record of any side in the division. Hibernian haven’t been the most effective side on the road either, winning just four of their 13 away matches.

I thought Celtic were a little unlucky during the week as they lost 4-1 to Stuttgart, they were pretty competitive and generated an xG of 2.09 in that defeat - which was actually a higher tally than the side from Germany. 

You can get the same price for Celtic to win as you can for them to score two goals, I think backing them to win also has some value, but for the purpose of our train - I think cheering them on for two goals is the way to go.

Prior to their defeat midweek, Celtic had scored 2+ goals in each of their last eight matches across all competitions. They came out on top in six of these games, with this run of form coinciding with Martin O’Neill’s return to the club.

Despite the stop start nature of Celtic’s campaign this season, their home form has generally been solid. Celtic have won 10 of their 13 home matches in the Scottish Premiership this term, which is the best home record in the division. They’ve scored 29 goals across these home games, working out to 2.23 goals per game.

One of the reasons I’m leaning more towards goals for our train is because I don’t think Celtic can expect to keep a clean sheet here. They had to score twice to secure all three points when these sides met earlier in the season and could find this assignment awkward at times. However, history is on the side of Celtic with Hibernian conceding 2+ goals in seven of their last eight trips to Celtic Park.

The final strong motivator for this angle is the fact that Celtic are in a title race alongside Rangers and Hearts where every point is proving to be precious. Celtic have the advantage of having a game in hand on both of their challengers and can put pressure on Rangers with a win here.