Celtic will be looking to pick another three points with a win against St Johnstone at Parkhead tomorrow afternoon.
The Scottish Premiership table looks healthy for Brendan Rodgers with a 12-point gap opening up against Rangers after the Ibrox club lost to St Mirren on Boxing Day coupled with the Bhoys beating Motherwell.
St Johnstone are rooted to the bottom of the table with just 14 points and 36 goals conceded so the signs are all pointing to a healthy Celtic win in Paradise.
That isn’t a view shared by Rodgers as he points out the ‘different’ challenge St Johnstone will pose Celtic as the Hoops boss notes their different tactical set up since hiring Simo Valakari.
Brendan Rodgers to ‘impose’ Celtic on St Johnstone’s ‘interesting’ tactics
Rodgers told Celtic TV, “It’s interesting because I think since the new manager has come in, he’s started off with a diamond whereas recently I’ve seen him more with a 4-4-2.
“But I think his ethos is to play football, to take the ball, to pass the ball and create opportunities.
“It’s a quick turnaround from [Thursday]. So, it might be a similar game, maybe a different set-up in terms of the system. But maybe a similar game, similar set-up: be compact and rely on players breaking out.
“The onus is on us. We want to impose our way and we’ll prepare now and get ready for that. Bring that freshness and finish the year really well.”
Brendan Rodgers’ impressive Celtic record vs St Johnstone
Brendan Rodgers may well be wary of the tactics St Johnstone might deploy against his Celtic side but the simple fact is the Hoops boss boasts an impressive record over the Perthc club.
| Played | Won | Drew | Lost | Goals for | Goals against | |
| Rodgers vs St Johnstone | 16 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 47 | 8 |
Celtic’s highest win over The Saints was the 6-0 thrashing dealt out earlier this season. In fact, under Rodgers’ tenure, Celtic have only failed to score more than one goal on four out those sixteen games with the Bhoys drawing a blank on just two ocassions.
Celtic have scored four or more goals against the McDairmid Park club seven times with two 6-0 thrashings being dealt out by a Rodgers team.
All the signs are pointing to a Celtic home win on Sunday to send the Hoops into the Glasgow Derby fixture unbeaten and high in confidence.
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