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St Mirren vs Celtic Predictions & Tips - Champions Backed in Entertaining Premiership Encounter

ryan-allan
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Last updated: Fri 04 Sep 2026 14:50
St Mirren, currently unbeaten in the Premiership, host Celtic in a much-anticipated top-table clash. While St Mirren have impressed with 10 points from four games, Celtic’s formidable attack and recent dominance in head-to-head encounters—including 12 wins from the last 14 meetings—make them favorites. Key players will be missing for both sides due to injury, but all eyes are on Celtic’s Camilo Duran, who boasts six goals in five appearances. Expect both teams to find the net, but Celtic are tipped to secure another league victory.
Ryan Allan 2 hours ago
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  • St Mirren host Premiership champions Celtic 
  • Celtic to win/BTTS backed in Saturday’s fixture
  • Get our St Mirren vs Celtic tips in the Scottish Premiership
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Camilo Duran of Celtic celebrates (Getty Images)

St Mirren vs Celtic Predictions

St Mirren welcome Celtic to Paisley on Saturday in a Premiership top-of-the-table clash.

The Buddies have made an excellent start to their season but face a Celtic side that made a habit of winning in 2026.

Both teams can score, but Celtic should eventually edge their way to victory at The Marbill Coaches Stadium.

Celtic Backed in Paisley


  • St Mirren scored 1+ goals in 13 of their last 14 matches
  • St Mirren scored an average of 2.22 goals per game in their last 10 matches
  • Celtic won 12 of their last 14 matches against St Mirren
  • Celtic won their last 14 matches (domestic fixtures)
  • Celtic scored an average of 3.0 goals per game in their last 6 matches

Celtic Dominate Head to Head Record

St Mirren and Celtic have met on 25 occasions since 2020. Celtic won 19 of those contests while St Mirren claimed three victories. Only three matches finished as draws.

St Mirren Maintain Superb Start

St Mirren come into Saturday’s contest after extending their unbeaten Premiership start with a 1-0 victory at Kilmarnock on Wednesday.

Fraser Taylor scored the winner after only four minutes as Craig McLeish’s men held firm to secure their third league victory of the campaign.

The visitors were worthy winners at Rugby Park, edging possession 53% to 47%, the shot count 10–9 and the final xG totals 1.09 to 0.43.

The Buddies have now collected ten points from four Premiership matches, leaving them just two points behind Celtic at the top of the table.

McLeish’s side began their campaign with a 2-0 victory at Falkirk before beating St Johnstone 1-0 in Paisley. Their only dropped points came in an entertaining 3-3 draw against Motherwell last weekend.

Recent contests against Celtic offer some encouragement for the Buddies. St Mirren forced extra time in a thrilling 6-2 Scottish Cup semi-final defeat after a famous 3-1 victory against the Hoops in last season’s League Cup final.

Celtic Maintain Perfect League Record

Celtic make the trip to Paisley after cruising to a 3-0 victory against Aberdeen at Celtic Park on Wednesday.

Camilo Duran opened the scoring after 14 minutes before Benjamin Nygren doubled the advantage. Yang Hyun-Jun added a third in first-half stoppage time as Martin O’Neill’s side effectively killed the contest before the half-time break.

In another impressive display of attack-minded football, the Hoops finished the contest with 66% possession, 27 attempts on goal and a final xG total of 2.47. 

The Dons managed only nine shots and an xG of 0.66.

The Scottish champions have now won each of their last 11 league fixtures since the end of last season. An average of 3.66 goals per game were scored in those matches.

Despite their strong early-season form, Celtic’s disastrous Champions League qualifying campaign highlighted their defensive fragilities. O’Neill’s side slumped to a 5-4 aggregate defeat against Sturm Graz after leading the tie 4-0.

St Mirren vs Celtic Team News

St Mirren: (4-2-3-1) Jacob Chapman; Calvin Ramsay, Alex Gogic, Henry Fieldson, Declan John; Ryan Carr, Paul Nsio; Ismeal Kabia, Fraser Taylor, Chris Mochrie; Nikolas Agrafiotis

St Mirren boss McLeish is unable to call on four first-team players this weekend. Liam Donnelly, Malik Dijksteel, Jonah Ayunga and Keanu Baccus are expected to miss out through injury.

McLeish is expected to retain much of the side that started Wednesday’s victory at Kilmarnock, with Fraser Taylor set to keep his place after scoring the winner.

McLeish praised St Mirren’s first-half quality and defensive resilience after they secured their first victory at Kilmarnock in over a decade.

“Second half, our discipline and shape defensively—they didn’t create clear-cut chances that hurt us.

“But I want to play the way we did in the first half for 90 minutes. I know that’s probably not realistic. There’ll be times when we have to suffer without the ball. We had to do that in the second half, but we were solid defensively.

“The first half was great. It’s what we want it to look like. We played with real quality, but I’m disappointed we didn’t get a goal to follow the first one.

“Someone just told me it’s our first win here in over 10 years. I’m just delighted to get another three points.”

Celtic: (4-1-4-1) Viljami Sinisalo; Colby Donovan, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, Liam Scales; Callum McGregor; Yang Hyun-Jun, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Benjamin Nygren, Haissem Hassan; Camilo Duran

Celtic have been busy in the closing stages of the transfer window, adding Joel van den Berg, Oliver Sorensen, Shumaira Mheuka, Sam Johnstone and Landon Emenalo to Martin O’Neill’s squad.

Heading out, Japanese midfielder Reo Hatate has completed a move to Burnley,

On the injury front, Alistair Johnston, Jota, and Kasper Hogh remain sidelined. Kieran Tierney missed Wednesday’s victory with a groin problem and will need to be assessed.

O’Neill was delighted with Celtic’s performance against Aberdeen and reserved special praise for Camilo Duran after another influential display.

“We played very well" 

“We seemed to control the game for the most part, and I thought the first goal was a big moment because the game was still in the balance. Overall, I’m delighted with the win, the goals we scored and the display.

“He’s (Camilo Duran) a terrific player. He has set the tone for us since the beginning of the season. He’s playing in a position that really suits him, but he can play in several positions—he’s that good.”

Duran has been particularly impressive since he arrived from Qarabag, with six goals in five appearances for the Hoops. 

Verdict

St Mirren deserve plenty of respect after collecting ten points from their opening four Premiership fixtures.

The hosts can score, but Celtic’s greater attacking quality should see them edge to victory in Paisley. 

I have stakes on Celtic/Over 2.5 goals and BTTS on Saturday. 

Best Bet1: BTTS Both Teams to Score @11/18 at bet365 - 4 Units
Best Bet2: Celtic/Over 2.5 Goals Result/Total Goals @5/6 at dabble - 4 Units
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ryan-allan
Ryan Allan

Football Writer • 10+ Years Of Experience, Football Analyst

Ryan is a Barcelona-based football fanatic with 10+ years of experience as a sports writer and statistical analyst. He covers a number of leagues including from his native Scotland, Italy, Germany and more.


A huge fan of the goal markets, he specialises in BTTS and over 2.5 goal picks from the MLS to the Bundesliga and beyond.

He has also been featured on MightyTips and you can find more from Ryan on Muckrack and LinkedIn.

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