Celtic will be odds on for the title next season

THERE aren’t many certainties in football. Smiling at the Charlie Adam dive is one of them. Another is that when the odds of winning the 2022/23 Premiership are released, Celtic will be the bookies’ favourites to win the title.

This time out, the Parkhead side are already in pole position and their May fixtures begin with a home match against Rangers. They look well on their way to again becoming champions.

Online bookmakers don’t all have the same odds for the Scottish Premiership. It’s a good idea to spend some time visiting several online sportsbooks to see which have the best odds for the 2022/23 season.

The moment the 2021/22 winners are confirmed, there should be odds produced. Reading blogs that look at betting markets is also advisable, and this can help you find the best odds for your football prediction tips.

Perhaps another certainty in football is Celtic doing all they can to bounce back from the 2020/21 season.

That saw Celtic finish 25 points behind a Rangers team that didn’t lose a single league game. Changes were needed at Celtic Park, and that saw the arrival of Greek-Australian Ange Postecoglou as their new manager. A few eyebrows were raised at the appointment, and he didn’t get off to a good start.

Another certainty in football is that those in charge of Celtic, together with their fans, including the legendary Rod Stewart, will want a better Champions League campaign next season. They were swiftly knocked out by Midtjylland this season and again failed to make the group stages. Celtic finished third in their Europa League group and then lost in the play-off round of the Europa Conference League.

A slow start to the Scottish Premiership season then took place with only ten points from the first seven games. The next 26 league games have seen Celtic Show Rangers they can go on long unbeaten runs too. May began with Celtic.

With such a dominant run of form in the Scottish Premiership, the bookies won’t take too long to make them favourites to retain their title.

You have to wonder what Celtic could achieve if they had a prolific goalscorer. After the Rangers game, their top league scorer was Liel Adaba but with only ten goals. It’s been a big effort by the Celtic squad this season, and overall, seven players have scored at least five league goals, with three more scoring four apiece. If Celtic want to keep their Scottish Premiership title and improve in Europe, a striker who can get to 20 goals would help a great deal. They will look to strengthen their squad in the summer. One bonus is that this time they will be better prepared for the qualifying rounds of the Champions League.

Their defence remains strong, with only 19 goals conceded in their first 33 league games of the season and just four at home. There is talk of a new goalkeeper coming into the club, and defender Boli Bolingoli looks to be making his way out.

One reason for Celtic being the likely odds-on favourites is the fall from grace of Rangers. There’s been no unbeaten season this time around with them even losing a home game this term. The Ibrox Park side allowed their rivals to build a strong lead with a string of points dropped in March and April. While Celtic were busy winning nine and drawing one, Rangers could only win six and lost two matches. Their Europa League journey has proved to be a bit of a distraction in recent months.

Another reason Celtic will be odds-on to win the title is the lack of contenders. Rangers will be a threat, of course, but who else can get close to challenging for the Scottish Premiership title? The answer appears to be no one.

Hearts have played well this season, but after 33 games of the current season are 25 points behind Celtic. Dundee United are in fourth but have just half the number of points of the league leaders. That’s an astonishing 41 points off the top of the table and have lost four times the number of league games Celtic have. The sad fact remains that the Scottish Premiership is still a two-horse race.

That leaves us with another Celtic v Rangers battle in 2022/23. Celtic have resumed their position as the top club in Scotland. Once they win the title, it’s a tough job to get it back off them. Celtic will deservedly be the odds-on favourites with the bookmakers to retain their title.