Premiership giants Celtic will be looking to get back to winning ways when they welcome St. Johnstone to Parkhead this Sunday evening. Neil Lennon’s men have been in an abysmal run of form over the last couple of months, having won just three times over the course of that period. Their latest fixture saw them get absolutely hammered by Italian heavyweights AC Milan in the Europa League, where despite taking what seemed like a comfortable 2-0 lead in the first-half, they were unable to see out the win. The Serie A side came back to score four goals, leaving the Celts winless in the competition still.
Last weekend was another massive low in what has been a terrible season for Celtic so far, as they crashed out of the Betfred Cup with a pathetic 2-0 defeat at the hands of fellow Premiership side Ross County. With fans now perpetually calling for the manager to be sacked, the next couple of fixtures could be very important for the future of both Neil Lennon, as well as Celtic as a whole. St. Johnstone currently find themselves in 7th place on the league table, but given Celtic’s current form, they will surely come into this fixture hoping to pick up a win.
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Celtic don’t currently have too many injury concerns to deal with, despite which their form has been poor. One of the biggest reasons that Celtic have been unable to keep up with the pace being set by Rangers is because of their defensive fragility and lack of width in attack. While the lack of a natural winger, in the absence of James Forrest, could be blamed for their attacking shortcomings, their defensive acquisitions over the summer have to be questioned.
Here Is The Predicted 4-2-3-1 Celtic Lineup Vs St. Johnstone:
Predicted 4-2-3-1 Celtic Lineup Vs St. Johnstone
Defence
Although Vasilis Barkas’ signing was completed so as to deploy him as the first-choice for the goalkeeping role, things haven’t quite panned out the way that Neil Lennon would’ve expected. Instead, Scott Bain is set to continue operating in between the sticks. In front of the keeper, the centre-half pairing that faced defeat at the hands of Milan in midweek is likely to continue. Nir Bitton should be partnered up by promising young Norwegian centre-half Kristoffer Ajer, with Jeremie Frimpong and Diego Laxalt operating in the full-back roles.
Midfield
Celtic only have two realistic options in the centre of the team, with summer signing David Turnbull yet to live up to the hype that surrounded him prior to arriving at Parkhead. Although the youngster has been given the occasional opportunity, it’s safe to say that he has not shown enough yet to deserve a place in the eleven. The usual central midfield pairing of Scott Brown and Callum McGregor is expected to continue in the Celtic engine room.
Attack
Despite the poor form that Celtic have been going through over recent weeks, the one shining light through all the darkness has been the attacking potency of Mohamed Elyounoussi. The Southampton loanee has singlehandedly rescued various points for the Celts this season, which means that he should come back into the team. Tom Rogic is set to continue operating alongside the Norwegian, with Ryan Christie acting as a makeshift winger over on the right side. Albian Ajeti could be given the not ahead of Odsonne Edouard in the centre-forward role for this clash as well.
