Celtic’s unbeaten run in the Premiership now stands at 46 games after they became Invincibles in 2016/17 and fans will be wondering how long they can keep it going. It looks highly likely that it will stretch for some distance into the future, as a glance at the 2017/18 fixture list shows that the Bhoys have a pretty comfortable start to the season. First up is a home game against Hearts and bookmakers have already released odds.
Celtic are just 1/4 to secure victory over Ian Cathro’s side after beating them 4-0, 5-0 and 2-0 last season. That is a pretty poor set of odds, and shows how highly rated this Celtic team is and how good everyone expects them to be next season. The first game of the season is often a tentative affair as players are a little sluggish and not quite match fit following a summer without competitive action. But the Bhoys will want to make a statement against Hearts and take three points from their opening game, and there is every reason to think they will do it. The Jambos failed to score in three league meetings against Celtic last season and Celtic to win this game to nil looks a really interesting bet at 5/6 with Bet365. Bet365 is a solid choice for a source of odds as this review shows and I am using them as a reference.
Despite that, Bet365 is offering just 1/20 on Celtic to win the league next season. That illustrates just how dominant the Bhoys are in Scotland right about now. The only futures bet worth taking last season on Celtic was for them to finish the season unbeaten, and many fans were paid out on that. For the season ahead, you can get 9/2 on them finishing unbeaten once more. No team in the land came close to stopping them last season, so it could well happen. Rangers are all over the place, and nobody is pulling off the sort of astute transfer market deals Celtic are securing, so the Bhoys really should consolidate their dominance of the Premiership next season. A second Invincible season would be pretty crazy, but stranger things have happened. Their dominance is expected to continue for many years, driven by Brendan Rodgers, Scott Brown and Scott Sinclair among others, and you can get 11/10 on them winning the next four league titles in a row.
A really interesting bet is the 10/3 on offer for Celtic to win the domestic treble next season. They achieved it comfortably last campaign, and they will fear nobody next time around, so that looks a fantastic bet. More risky is the 9/1 on them reaching the last 16 of the Champions League. That is the real barometer for Celtic now if they want to stake a claim to be remembered as the best Bhoys team in history. The Champions League is a phenomenally competitive tournament and getting out of the group stages – provided they qualify – would be a very difficult task. But it is not unthinkable. They drew with Man City last season and acquitted themselves well in their group – the humbling at the hands of Barcelona aside – so there is a foundation to build on. Confidence will play a key part, as will the ability to raise their game after being so poorly tested week in, week out in the domestic campaign. But there is every reason to feel full of confidence and optimism going into next season as Celtic have an extremely strong squad, real star quality and a top manager, and they can compete on all fronts.