Celtic will travel to Rugby Park on Friday night to take on Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership. The Hoops have a pretty healthy lead at the top of the table right now and won’t be too worried by Rangers’ recent resurgence after a bad run of form. They have 31 points from 11 games and are yet to be beaten in the Premiership. The likes of Aberdeen, Rangers, Hearts and St. Johnstone are much behind the Bhoys in the title race and Rodgers will be keen to keep up the hegemony.
Celtic have an excellent record against Killie winning 32 of their 39 games against them. They have also won in eight of their last ten meetings while the other two ended as draws. The two sides met each other earlier this season and Celtic won the game 6-1 at Parkhead. Dembele scored twice in that game while Rogic, Forrest, Sinclair and Griffiths scored one each.
Celtic are clear favourites for the game and they shouldn’t have too many problems in winning the game. Here is the predicted Celtic lineup against Kilmarnock.
Defence
Scottish custodian Craig Gordon will keep his place under the bar ahead of Dorus de Vries. Erik Sviatchenko will keep his place at the heart of the defence. Jozo Simunovic should start alongside the Dane at the heart of the defence. Costa Rican international right-back Cristian Gamboa is likely to start at right-back with Mikael Lustig being doubtful for the game. Emilio Izaguirre is likely to start at left-back with Kieran Tierney out injured.
Midfield
Skipper Scott Brown is enjoying a purple patch of form this season and is an assured starter in the middle of the park. We expect Stuart Armstrong to pair up with the 31-year-old in the middle of the park. Armstrong has done a decent job as a number eight this season but needs to improve his finishing. Tom Rogic is likely to start as the number ten and will be looking to keep up his stunning form.
Attack
16 goals to his name from 24 games in all competitions- Moussa Dembele is in a stunning form this season and has established himself as the first-choice striker at Parkhead. James Forrest’s form has dried up of late and the Scot is likely to start the game from the bench. Manchester City loanee Patrick Roberts could get his chance on the right flank while Scott Sinclair is likely to keep his place on the left.
