here's preview from
Bettingzone.
One surprising fact highlighted.
Celtic were humbled by Hearts in the quarter-finals of the CIS Cup in front of just 21,492 fans at Parkhead on Wednesday and Kilmarnock will feel the champions are there for the taking on Saturday lunchtime at Rugby Park.
The Hoops slumped to their third defeat in four games against the Jambos but what will concern boss Gordon Strachan most is that they have failed to score in those three losses.
Strachan has a host of injury problems to contend with, the latest being Lee Naylor who was withdrawn at half-time against Hearts, meaning midfielder Paul Hartley had to fill in at left-back.
Amazingly, Naylor is the only recognised left-back in the Hoops squad and should he miss the trip to Ayrshire, Strachan could find himself fielding four centre-halves, with Darren O'Dea almost certain to take his place and Gary Caldwell being forced to play on the other side of the back four.
Killie will also be lifted by the absence of Shunsuke Nakamura.
The playmaker has yet to find his best form this season, but he loves playing at Rugby Park, scoring four goals in his four appearances there, including the last-minute free-kick which secured the title last season.
The Japanese midfielder will be left out of the squad to make sure he is fit for Tuesday's must-win Champions League clash with Benfica and that game may affect other areas of Strachan's team selection.
The Hoops moved three points clear of Rangers and Dundee United at the top of the SPL last week with a comfortable win over Motherwell but the lead has been changing hands on an almost weekly basis and,
incredibly, both halves of the Old Firm have not won on the same weekend for over two months.
Meanwhile, Kille have key players returning from injury and they looked back to form in last week's 3-1 triumph over Hearts.
In short, added to their injury worries, Celtic have failed to score in three of their last four games and have not kept a clean sheet on the road for 13 months in all competitions, making the 13/2 available on a home win rather appealing.
However, it must be remembered that Kilmarnock have not beaten Celtic since 2001 so the 9/2 in the 'draw no bet' market looks better value.
Should the Bhoys slip up at Rugby Park, Hibs will be looking to take advantage when they host bitter rivals Hearts on Sunday.
John Collins' side have enjoyed a superb start to the season and sit fourth in the table, just one point behind Rangers and Dundee United and a further three behind Celtic although the wheels have come off slightly in recent weeks with their stunning success over the Gers at Ibrox followed by defeats against Motherwell and St Mirren.
Hearts on the other hand are all over the place at the moment, having defeated both sides of the Old Firm but are languishing in eighth place in the SPL.
It's almost impossible to pick a winner here with Hearts winning five of the previous 10 meetings, Hibs four and one draw.
Although it's not normally a market we would look to, there looks to be decent value in picking the time of the first goal.
Three of the last four meetings between the teams, as well as two of the last three at Easter Road, have witnessed goals within the first five minutes.
Ally that to the fact that Hibs have opened the scoring inside the first ten minutes in three of their six home games this season (in two others they scored in 11 and 12 minutes) and in five of nine league games overall and a pattern begins to emerge.
With Hibs looking to keep up the pace at the top and Hearts hoping to build on their impressive win at Parkhead, both sides are likely to come out flying in the opening stages and the 7/2 available available on the first goal to be scored between 0 and 10 minutes looks worth a small punt.
Scottish Premier - 3rd/4th November
TOTW/F/M Award(s): 2
. Motherwell St Mirren looks a good game. How the h2h's been on that lately?
Any prices standing out to anyone this week?
