Celtic conclude their trio of meetings with Tommy Wright’s St Johnstone on Sunday at Celtic Park.
In the two previous league meetings, both pretty much went identical to each other. The Hoops dominated both, but it took some moments of class in either game for Celtic to take the points.
But this time, it’ll be Scottish Cup action as the bid for the treble-treble continues. It’s sometimes difficult to forget, given the positive vibe around the club again, that Celtic’s treble dreams will be dashed if they lose on Sunday.
Yet with six wins on the spin, there’s no reason to believe we’re in for that. So just who do we think could start this supremely important contest? Let’s delve into it.
Scott Bain had been known by sections of the Celtic support as the Hoops’ “cup keeper” in the past. After all, Brendan Rodgers played him in every Betfred Cup clash in the first half of the season. But fast forward two months on from that cup final against Aberdeen, and Bain is more or less the club’s number one. There’s no reason that should change on Sunday.
Jeremy Toljan has had an impressive couple of appearances so far. He’ll likely continue his integration down the right-side on Sunday too.
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A big defensive decision for Rodgers
Rodgers could have one of his big decisions to make at left-back. Emilio Izaguirre took a shocking challenge from Hibernian’s Darnell Johnson in mid-week. The manager has said Izzy doesn’t seem to have anything major, so we’re going to predict he’s in.
Dedryck Boyata made a terrific return against Hibs, and he could be partnered by the returning Kristoffer Ajer. Jozo Simunovic could, however, be cited for a challenge on Hibernian’s Oli Shaw. The Compliance Officer Clare Whyte should make a decision by 3pm on Friday afternoon. For that reason, we’ll go safe and give it to Ajer.
Scott Brown, as always, should be partnered with Callum McGregor. That’s a duo that can never be split up.
Rodgers’ curve-ball on Wednesday night saw Timothy Weah play on the right with Oli Burke up top. That’s despite the fact both player’s natural positions are the opposite.
There isn’t much reason to sway from that, however. Therefore, we’ll go with that again in our predicted XI. Weah on the right, Sinclair on the left, and Burke up top.
But one other thing to expect is that Vakoun Issouf Bayo makes his long-awaited debut. He came within seconds of being substituted on against Hibs, only for Izzy’s injury to halt him. Expect Rodgers to make that up to him on Sunday, regardless of the scoreline.
Here is our full predicted XI in list form: