Celtic will look to get back to winning ways after a disappointing 0-0 draw against Hibernian on Saturday at Easter Road.
With Celtic dropping two points against Hibernian and Rangers gaining two on the Hoops with late goals against Hearts, tonight’s match against St Mirren is the perfect occasion to showcase that Saturday was merely a fluke.
St Mirren on the other hand will prove a difficult opponent and have clearly been the third-best team in Scotland this season. The Saints currently sit five points clear of fourth-placed Kilmarnock with a game in hand on the Ayrshire side.
Saturday marked only the second time this season in the Scottish Premiership Celtic have dropped points. Having won against the likes of Aberdeen, Rangers, Livingston, Motherwell, and Hearts it is clear the Hoops have had the most difficult start to a season in recent memory. To have only have dropped points twice and sit five points clear at the top of the table is a credit to the work Brendan Rodgers is doing with the team behind the scenes.
Alistair Johnston was substituted just 26 minutes into the game on Saturday with a head knock. However, he has trained the past couple of days and should be fine to start, despite such a worrying injury scare to a player who has grown to become irreplaceable in his absence from the starting 11 since joining the club in December 2022.
Celtic predicted team vs St Mirren
Joe Hart retains his place in goal. The only question over the back four is whether Alistair Johnston or Anthony Ralston will start at right-back. Given the Canadian has recovered from that weekend blow, we should see him feature.
Liam Scales and Cameron Carter-Vickers have formed a formidable partnership in recent weeks and both are likely to retain spots, with Greg Taylor likely capping off an unchanged defence. Celtic’s reserve left-back Alexandro Bernabei has not made the bench in the Scottish Premiership since his substitute appearance at Ibrox meaning Taylor is almost certain to start.
In midfield, there is one spot up for grabs, that of Reo Hatate, who will remain out until after Christmas but Paulo Bernardo is the most likely to take Hatate’s spot. David Turnbull and Odin Thiago Holm are also options, with Turnbull playing 33 minutes at the weekend.
Despite a poor showing against Hibernian, Bernardo’s substitute performance against Atletico Madrid suggests he will start in midfield alongside Matt O’Riley, who has been Celtic’s star player this season, and Mr consistent Callum McGregor.
Up front, James Forrest and Mikey Johnston could come in to start after impressive displays at the weekend. However, both Forrest and Johnston’s cameo appearances at the weekend look to be no more than a chance to recover fitness for Daizen Maeda and Luis Palma after a gruelling game against Atletico Madrid. Both will likely start.
Kyogo Furuhashi, despite being substituted early on Saturday, is expected to start and is arguably Celtic’s first name on the team sheet.
Your predicted XI in full is: Hart, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor, McGregor, Bernardo, O’Riley, Maeda, Palma, Kyogo.
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