Following a disappointing defeat last weekend, Celtic will set out to strengthen their position at the top of the Scottish Premiership table on Saturday, when they welcome Hearts to Celtic Park.
The defending champions suffered a first league defeat at the hands of Kilmarnock last time out but now head into the weekend on the back of a victory over Feyenoord to bow out of the Champions League group stage on a high.
Match preview
© Reuters
Celtic will return to league action in Glasgow on Saturday with the aim of rebounding from a first setback of the season last weekend, having enjoyed a strong start to their latest Scottish Premiership title defence under the management of Brendan Rodgers.
Indeed, the Bhoys went unbeaten in their opening 16 matches while only dropping points on three occasions, amassing 42 points having netted a league-high tally of 42 goals at that stage while only conceding 10 at the other end, as they headed into a trip to Kilmarnock on the back of 3-1 and 4-1 triumphs over St Johnstone and Hibernian respectively.
Aiming to build on what then stood as an eight-point lead over title rivals Rangers, the Glasgow giants went ahead through Matt O'Riley on the half-hour mark at Rugby Park, only for a Nat Phillips own goal to draw the hosts level 15 minutes from time, before Matty Kennedy condemned the Bhoys to a shock defeat with the winner three minutes from time.
That saw their lead over Rangers reduced to five points, although Rodgers's men will now return to league action at the weekend with a degree of renewed confidence, having ended their unsuccessful Champions League campaign on a high on Wednesday, finishing on four points thanks to a 2-1 victory over Dutch outfit Feyenoord as Gustaf Lagerbielke netted the winner in injury time after Kyogo Furuhashi previously had them ahead in the first half.
With their focus now fully on their title defence, Celtic will bid to make a swift return to winning ways in the Scottish top flight on Saturday to ensure their rivals do not make up any more ground in the coming weeks ahead of a crucial Old Firm Derby at the end of the year.
© Reuters
In their way stand a Hearts side who will also look to bounce back from a defeat last time out in what has been a difficult campaign for the Edinburgh outfit thus far.
Following third and fourth-placed finishes in the last two terms, the Jam Tarts currently find themselves sixth in the Scottish Premiership with 23 points on the board from their 16 outings, having struggled particularly in attack with only the bottom two netting fewer than their 15 goals.
Indeed, Steven Naismith's side did enjoy a brief return to third spot recently as they put three consecutive wins on the board against Motherwell, St Johnstone and Kilmarnock around the break, but they now head into a tough trip on the back of a pair of defeats, as their winning streak was firstly halted by a 1-0 home defeat to Rangers, with Abdallah Sima's first-half goal making the only difference.
The Edinburgh outfit then travelled to take on strugglers Aberdeen last Saturday, and after going ahead in the first half though Lawrence Shankland, they were pegged back by a Bojan Miovski equaliser, before Leighton Clarkson popped up with a 92nd-minute winner for the hosts, sending the Jam Tarts home empty-handed as a result.
While they do remain just two points off third spot in the Scottish Premiership with a game in hand on the three sides above them, Hearts face another tough test on Saturday and will be desperate to avoid a third straight defeat.
Team News
© Reuters
Celtic are set to remain without several key players through injury this weekend, as midfielder Reo Hatate is confined to the treatment room alongside attackers Liel Abada and Daizen Maeda.
Indeed, Rodgers should certainly field a similar starting XI to the one that beat Feyenoord in midweek, with Michael Johnston and Luis Palma bound to again flank star forward Kyogo Furuhashi, who netted his eighth goal of the season on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Matt O'Riley, who has netted a joint-league-high tally of nine Premiership goals so far this season, should again be joined by Tomoki Iwata and Callum McGregor in midfield, while Gustaf Lagerbielke will hope to earn a start in defence after his goal off the bench to seal the win in midweek, with Stephen Welsh and Liam Scales preferred from the start in that match.
Hearts are also dealing with several injury concerns heading into the weekend, as midfielder Cammy Devlin and attacker Liam Boyce both missed their meeting with Aberdeen and are unlikely to return in time for Saturday's trip to the capital.
In the expected absence of Boyce, Kenneth Vargas should again get the nod up front in a 3-5-2 shape alongside key man and Lawrence Shankland, who has scored seven and assisted one of their 15 Premiership goals so far this term, while netting 12 across all competitions after scoring 28 last time around.
Calem Nieuwenhof and Beni Baningime should continue in midfield, with Alex Lowry again fighting to get the nod ahead of the likes of Aidan Denholm and Jorge Grant, while Stephen Kingsley, Frankie Kent and Australia international Kye Rowles are set to line up in an unaltered back three.
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; A Johnston, Welsh, Scales, Taylor; O'Riley, Iwata, McGregor; M Johnston, Furuhashi, Palma
Hearts possible starting lineup:
Clark; Kingsley, Kent, Rowles; Sibbick, Nieuwenhof, Baningime, Denholm, Cochrane; Vargas, Shankland
We say: Celtic 3-1 Hearts
Aiming to avoid another slip which could see Rangers move within touching distance of top spot, Celtic should have more than enough quality, even without several key men, to get past Hearts on home turf this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
