Celtic have been near unstoppable of late and they look well placed to pocket another three points against Hibs on Sunday.

Brendan Rodgers’ side played with a real swagger during pre-season, scoring four goals in each of their victories over Man City and Chelsea. The Bhoys have carried that momentum into competitive action as they turned on the style in their 4-0 rout of Kilmarnock last weekend.

That spells trouble for a Hibernian side that were soundly beaten 3-0 away at St Mirren last Sunday. Inconsistency continues to plague Hibs’ progress and their seemingly never ending rebuild also continues under latest boss David Gray.

As such, the capital club face a tall order if they are to stop free-scoring Celtic in their tracks. Backing Celtic to extend their winning run in the Scottish Premiership to eight matches is therefore an obvious angle of attack at Easter Road on Sunday.

Celtic found themselves two goals to the good at the interval against Kilmarnock and it would be no surprise to see them home and hosed by half-time against Hibs on Sunday.

After storming to another Scottish Premiership title last season, Brendan Rodgers’ side look fresh and re-energised as they go in search of a fourth league crown.

Hibs failed to keep out both Kelty Hearts and Queen’s Park during the league phase of the Scottish League Cup, and their lack of confidence in defence is something Celtic’s free-scoring attack could be able to exploit during the early stages of the game at Easter Road.

The Hoops were leading a half time before going on to secure victory when they last visited this venue in early 2024, and a repeat looks likely in Leith on Sunday.

Goal-heavy games were a regular feature of Celtic’s pre-season friendlies and that trend continued into their first competitive fixture of the season last Sunday.

Brendan Rodgers’ side ended their pre-season tour of the USA with three straight victories, scoring exactly four goals in each of those successes. They managed to repeat the feat against Kilmarnock last Sunday and racking up another four strikes is not beyond the Bhoys this weekend, making over 2.5 match goals an appealing prospect at Easter Road.

Each of Celtic’s last 12 Scottish Premiership victories have produced three match goals or more, while Hibs’ last eight defeats in the Scottish top-flight have broken the over 2.5 goal barrier.

Considering the relentless nature of Celtic’s recent goalscoring form, it was somewhat surprising that Kyogo Furuhashi didn’t manage to get himself on the scoresheet against Kilmarnock.

The Celtic striker attempted no fewer than eight shots on goal last Sunday, and he also provided an assist for teammate Nicolas Kuhn. Celtic as a team create plenty of chances and it’s surely only a matter of time before Furuhashi opens up his account for the season.

The Japanese ace fired in six goals during pre-season, helping Celtic put both Man City and Chelsea to the sword in the process. Hibs’ soft defensive underbelly was exposed yet again by St Mirren last weekend, making Hoops hitman Furuhashi a prime candidate to hit the back of the net.

Despite their shortcomings in recent seasons, Hibs possess enough quality in attack to land a blow on Celtic’s defence on Sunday.

While David Gray’s side failed to score against St Mirren last weekend, they were scoring goals for fun during the group phase of the Scottish League Cup, slamming in 14 strikes across their four assignments.

The Hibees failed to hit the back of the net in just eight of their 38 league games last season, netting in two of their three meetings with Celtic. That knack for notching coincided with 22 of the capital club’s 38 league assignments last season ending with both teams getting on the scoresheet.

It’s also worth pointing out that Brendan Rodgers’ backline have failed to shutout their opponents in 11 of their last 16 league games, with both sides getting in on the act in a sizeable 10 of those contests.

With Celtic expected to dominate proceedings at Easter Road on Sunday afternoon, the visitors should rack up plenty of corner kicks.

Brendan Rodgers’ team were prolific on this front last season, averaging a shade under 10 per game in the Scottish Premiership. The Parkhead club picked up where they left off from a corners perspective in their opening day win over Kilmarnock, hitting double figures (10) en-route to victory.

That means the reigning champions have covered the 8+ corner line in each of their last seven Scottish Premiership assignments. With that in mind, a minimum of six Celtic corners should be well within range in the capital on Sunday afternoon.

Rodgers’ side earned six or more corners in two of their three meetings with Hibs last season, and given the attacking intensity they are playing with at present, Celtic are backed to repeat the trick Edinburgh.

While Hibernian are not exactly renowned for being an ill-disciplined side, they may have no choice but to lean on the game’s dark arts here in an attempt to take the sting out of Celtic’s attack.

Therefore, backing Hibs to collect a minimum of two cards during this contest seems like a sensible option to take. The Hibees picked up two bookings or more in two of their three meetings with Celtic last season, including three cautions when the Hoops were last in town back in February.

What’s more, Celtic were drawing an average of just under two yellow cards per-game from their Scottish Premiership opponents last season. That was the case against Kilmarnock at Celtic Park last Sunday, with the visitors ending up in the referees notebook on two occasions.

Thus, back a Hibs side that will be up against it and low in confidence to follow suit on Sunday afternoon.

Hibernian midfielder Joe Newell has never been one to shy away from a challenge and he looks a strong contender to tackle his way into trouble on Sunday afternoon.

The Hibs skipper is no stranger to a booking, clocking up 10 yellow cards in the Scottish top-flight last term, while picking up a further two cautions in cup competitions. It’s also worth noting that Newell had his name taken by the referee when Celtic last visited Easter Road back in February.

Even at this early stage of the season, it already feels like Celtic are building a head of steam in their pursuit of a fourth Scottish Premiership title, meaning Newell may have no option but to ramp up his aggression on matchday two.