Celtic take on Aberdeen this evening in Scottish Premiership action.
The Hoops lead the division by a significant 13-point margin following Rangers’ failure to win their game in hand which ultimately cost Philippe Clement his Ibrox job.
Brendan Rodgers‘ side are at home when the Dons come to town and a statement victory is needed following a disappointing defeat to Hibs over the weekend.
Jimmy Thelin’s side sit third in the table and are the only domestic club to take points off Celtic at Parkhead this campaign so far.
That will not fly tonight and fans are expectant of a dramatically improved performance from Easter Road.
The players were put through their paces this week at Lennoxtown by the manager and his coaching staff.
And here are some takeaways 67 Hail Hail spotted from the final session before their league fixture in this evening’s 8pm kick-off live on Sky Sports.
John Kennedy leads the Celtic session
The assistant head coach is now seemingly the man to take the training sessions on behalf of Rodgers who has taken a step back from the day to day.
The gaffer was still in attendance as he likes to be but it was Kennedy who was the man with the plays sheet and all the information for the players to take in from their drills.
He will be a strong manager on his own whenever he decides to step out to do so and he has a very long leash at Celtic Park to implement his own demands on the Lennoxtown grass.
Maeda through the middle?
Adam Idah was not particularly effective against Hibs on Sunday and that could mean a spot up front for the player who scored Celtic’s only goal of that game after tactical tweaks.
Daizen has been phenomenal in that position and proved a lot of doubters wrong after the January striker disappointment.
He’s impressive wherever he plays these days but as the lone striker he is fast becoming an unsung hero.
Jeffrey Schlupp stakes his claim again
Jeffrey Schlupp was one of the team’s standouts against Bayern Munich in the heart-wrenching 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena before he was rested vs Hibs.
A lot of focus from the Celtic video team seemed to be on the Crystal Palace loanee and they may know more than we do when it comes to Rodgers’ personnel decisions to come this evening.
Schlupp arrived at Celtic on deadline day and continues to push Greg Taylor for his starting spot after a promising start for the German-born star.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  CelticCeltic | 27 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 77 | 14 | 63 | 69 |
| 2 |  RangersRangers | 27 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 54 | 22 | 32 | 56 |
| 3 |  AberdeenAberdeen | 27 | 12 | 5 | 10 | 35 | 39 | -4 | 41 |
| 4 |  Dundee UtdDundee Utd | 27 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 33 | 31 | 2 | 40 |
| 5 |  HibernianHibernian | 27 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 39 | 38 | 1 | 37 |
| 6 |  St MirrenSt Mirren | 27 | 10 | 4 | 13 | 32 | 39 | -7 | 34 |
Luke McCowan pushes hard
McCowan was hooked at half-time against Hibs but he looked on the ball in the training footage with every touch exquisite and his fitness looking in good shape.
If Reo Hatate doesn’t start against Aberdeen, it will be McCowan with Paulo Bernardo sadly still injured.
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