‘Bit of a stinker’ – Chris Sutton tells Celtic to get ready for their biggest game as weight of expectation ‘enormous’

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Celtic may face Kilmarnock this evening in the Scottish Cup but they have even more important fixtures on the horizon.

That is the view of former striker Chris Sutton who has been mightily impressed by his old club this term.

The Hoops hold a 13-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership and that had Brendan Rodgers brushing off “criticism” from some sections of the support over performances.

It should be an insurmountable lead at the summit with some of a Rangers persuasion already accepting the title race is over.

For Sutton the domestic football from Celtic has been dominant.

But it is in the Champions League where he has been particularly pleased with their showings as well as their ability to win vital, crucial points to sit desperately close to a knockout playoff.

• READ MORE: What we spotted from Celtic training before Kilmarnock clash as key man returns

Celtic’s biggest game of the season is yet to come, says Sutton

Young Boys and Aston Villa stand between the Hoops and a spot in the next round and Sutton believes it’s against the Swiss that will present the “biggest game in a long time” for Rodgers‘ troops.

He feels the notion of a walkover against their opponents is unfounded and that complacency would be a disaster for Celtic.

And Sutton has admitted it is extra tough considering Young Boys had the benefit of a winter break.

That prevented scouts and opponent analysts from getting a personal eye on what Rodgers can expect to come up against.

Celtic face an ‘enormous’ clash vs Young Boys

“Celtic have surprised me in a really good way this season in Europe,” Sutton wrote in his Daily Record column.

“But you cannot get away from the fact that this is the biggest game Celtic have had in a long time. If they win it’s a great success but if they don’t then they will put themselves under enormous pressure heading to Aston Villa.

“There is a feeling because it’s Young Boys that this should be 4 or 5-0. It’s not as easy as that. The pressure is off Young Boys, and it’s a bit of a stinker for Celtic with their opponents being on a winter break.

“No scouting and nobody knows how they are going to approach this. This is enormous for Celtic because of the weight of expectation.

“If Daizen Maeda comes back, Kuhn has returned well but all the players need to be bold enough and absorb that pressure.

“They must try and repeat what they did against Leipzig and get to the knockouts.”