Celtic are coming on the back of a deflating defeat against Austrian champions RB Salzburg where they lost 3-1 on the night. However, Rodgers and his boys don’t have enough time to dwell on that loss as they need to make up ground in the league as they take on St. Johnstone this weekend. They need to get the previous loss out of the system and should try to get their focus back on their Scottish opponents.
On paper, this should be an easy victory for the Hoops but the current Celtic side looks vulnerable and St. Johnstone would undoubtedly seek to pile on more pressure on the defending champions.
Team News
Scott Brown was a big miss due to a hamstring issue in the Europa League encounter, and the club would again have to make do without him in midfield. Jozo Simunoic was back on the bench against Salzburg, and he seems to be back to full fitness. Kristoffer Ajer has still not recovered from his illness.
Celtic’s Predicted Lineup Vs St. Johnstone
Formation (4-2-3-1)
Defence
Craig Gordon made some good saves against Salzburg to keep his team in the tie, but his effort wasn’t enough to secure anything for his side. Nevertheless, the veteran looks sharp and should start in goal for this league game. Jack Hendry and Dedryck Boyata are the possible centre-back partnership who might start as Rodgers cannot afford to drop points in the league. Both of them would expect a much easier game than they had midweek. Mikael Lustig and Kieran Tierney would have much more chances to go forward in this game, and they should start in their usual full-back roles.
Midfield
Rodgers should be definitely concerned about Oliver Ntcham’s performance of late. He has the tendency to give the ball in dangerous positions and the talented Frenchman needs to show his real worth when the team needs him especially in the absence of captain Brown. Youssouf Mulumbu showed Rodgers that he could be trusted in that anchor role and the midfielder was one of the better players on the pitch against Salzburg. He will once again fill in for Scott Brown.
Scott Sinclair should start down the left as he would be fresh after making just a substitute appearance in the Europa League game. Tom Rogic didn’t play any part in the last game and he should be preferred over Callum McGregor. James Forrest would be looking to make amends after he let himself and the team down by conceding a penalty yesterday. To be fair to him, he hardly got any chance to stretch the play as the Hoops were unable to get out of their half for most of the match.
Attack
Odsonne Edouard finally managed to break his mini goal scoring drought. He was feeding off scraps in the last game but expect him to be more in action in the league game against St. Johnstone where he should lead the line.
