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Celtic logo
Scottish Premiership | Gameweek 19
Dec 23, 2023 at 3pm UK
Celtic Park
Livingston logo

Celtic
2 - 0
Livingston

Furuhashi (46'), Scales (51')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Holt (67')

Preview: Celtic vs. Livingston - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Scottish Premiership clash between Celtic and Livingston, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Celtic will be hoping to get back to winning ways on Saturday after suffering consecutive losses in the Scottish Premiership.

They face Livingston who are at the opposite end of the table, currently sat bottom of the division after winning just two matches this season.


Match preview

Celtic's Callum McGregor celebrates with teammates after the match on December 13, 2023© Reuters

Celtic's dominant grip of the Scottish Premiership has been rocked in recent weeks due to consecutive defeats at the hands of Kilmarnock and Hearts which have allowed the chasing pack to catch them up.

The Hoops now only sit two points above Rangers in the table, and considering that the Gers have a game in hand there is now a lot of pressure on them to turn things around.

Celtic were blown away by Hearts last weekend with first-half goals from Lawrence Shankland and Stephen Kingsley leading to a 2-0 loss.

It was a rare game where the Hoops failed to score, which is something that fans have not come to expect from the team with the best-attacking record in the league at this point.

Brendan Rodgers will be demanding an instant response from his team, and their previous result against Livingston should bring some confidence to the team as they secured a 3-0 win during the last meeting.

Livingston manager David Martindale on August 12, 2023© Reuters

That is a game the Lions will want to forget considering the fact Celtic played the bulk of the fixture with 10 men after Joe Hart was sent off in the 28th minute of that one.

However, it has been a tough campaign overall for Livingston as they have only won two games throughout the league campaign which has left them sat at the foot of the table.

David Martindale's men pushed Aberdeen in midweek with Kurtis Guthrie originally giving them the lead, but they were unable to hang on as Bojan Miovski scored a brace to win the game.

Livingston are now six points adrift of safety, and that is something that places a lot of pressure on the team to start turning around their performances.

The Lions have conceded 16 times away from home this season which is a situation that they will need to change moving forward should they wish to start securing more points on the road.

Celtic Scottish Premiership form:


Celtic form (all competitions):


Livingston Scottish Premiership form:


Team News

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers applauds fans after the match on December 13, 2023© Reuters

Celtic have a trio of injuries to deal with heading into this game as Reo Hatate, Liel Abada and Daizen Maeda are all currently on the sidelines.

The Hoops are likely to lead the line with Kyogo Furuhashi at the point of the attack, working a 4-3-3 formation to build toward him.

Sean Kelly was on the sidelines in midweek after coming off with an injury in Livingston's previous outing, and he is expected to be unavailable once more.

Guthrie should retain his place in the attack, though, after finding the back of the net in midweek, with the Lions likely to focus on three at the back.


Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; A. Johnston, Welsh, Scales, Taylor; O'Riley, Iwata, McGregor; M. Johnston, Furuhashi, Palma

Livingston possible starting lineup:
George; Nottingham, Obileye, Devlin; Nouble, Holt, Shinnie, Penrice; Pittman; Anderson, Guthrie


SM words green background

We say: Celtic 3-0 Livingston

Despite poor results recently, Celtic will see facing Livingston as the ideal fixture to get back on track in their attempt to remain top of the Scottish Premiership.

The attacking qualities of the Hoops should be too much for the Lions, who will still look to put out a stern test.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 2.5:data


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Written by
Matthew Wilkinson

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Game History

How you voted: Celtic vs Livingston

Celtic
92.3%
Draw
7.7%
Livingston
0.0%
13
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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers on October 4, 2023
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Celtic1614204444044
2RangersRangers1611232891935
3Aberdeen17104331211034
4Motherwell178272327-426
5Dundee UnitedDundee Utd176742519625
6St Mirren187382429-524
7Dundee175482730-319
8Hibernian184682430-618
9Kilmarnock184681935-1618
10Hearts1844102027-716
11Ross County183691435-2115
12St Johnstone1842122134-1314


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