Tenth-placed St Johnstone are set to host Scottish Premiership league leaders Celtic at McDiarmid Park on Saturday, hoping to deliver an unexpected defeat to the visitors.
The hosts are winless in five matches heading into this one, while the visitors are yet to drop points across all competitions.
Match preview
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St Johnstone will be heading into this game without a permanent manager in charge following the dismissal of Craig Levein last week, making this their second outing while on the hunt for a new boss.
Levein, who had been in charge since November 2023, was sacked due to their disappointing start to the season as well as the poor quality of football being displayed.
They did manage to win three of their four Scottish League Cup group games to kickstart the term, albeit all against lower-league opposition, but have recorded just one victory in their following seven outings.
Andy Kirk has taken charge on a temporary basis while the search for a new manager continues, and he managed to end St Johnstone's four-game losing streak with a 3-3 draw to Ross County last time out.
Kirk will be aiming for another positive result on Saturday, though the Saints will be heading into the game as major underdogs against high-flying Celtic.
The Bhoys have been phenomenal so far this term, winning all of their eight matches played so far across all competitions with an aggregate score of 27-4, while they are remarkably yet to concede in the league.
Brendan Rodgers, who returned to Celtic in July 2023 after departing for Leicester City in February 2019, will be delighted with how his side have performed this campaign, especially in their historic 5-1 win against Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League.
Rodgers will be aiming to extend Celtic's winning run to eight matches at the start of this campaign and 16 games including the end of last season, and his side will be strong favourites for a significant victory.
The Bhoys have not suffered a defeat in this fixture since May 2016, leaving them unbeaten in their last 29 meetings, recording an impressive 25 victories during that span.
Team News
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The hosts will be missing both Uche Ikpeazu and Sam McClelland for this match, as the two continue their recovery from their respective injuries.
Mackenzie Kirk may also be unavailable after the forward was taken off in the 80th minute of their 3-3 draw with Ross County due to an injury concern.
Benjamin Mbunga-Kimpioka is also ruled out after receiving a red card in the 89th minute of their defeat to Hibernian a fortnight ago.
As for Celtic, they are coming into this game with a clean bill of health, giving Rodgers a fully-fit squad to choose from.
The Bhoys made a number of changes for their Scottish League Cup quarter-final with Falkirk, but they are likely to return to the full-strength side that beat Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League.
St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Sinclair; Neilson, Sanders, Cameron; Wright, Holt, Sprangler, Smith, Raymond; Clark, MacPherson
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; Engels, McGregor, Hatate; Kuhn, Furuhashi, Maeda
We say: St Johnstone 1-4 Celtic
These two teams have experienced sharply contrasting starts to their 2024-25 seasons, with St Johnstone struggling while Celtic have been dominant in every game they have played.
We anticipate that this trend will continue on Saturday, resulting in a significant victory for the visitors.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
