Celtic stumbled on Sunday lunchtime against Hibernian, but the stalemate at Easter Road did not make much of a difference, thanks to Rangers‘ shocking 2-2 draw versus Motherwell. The Hoops still have a three-point cushion at the top of the league standings ahead of hosting St Mirren on Wednesday night.
The Hoops registered a thumping 6-0 win in their previous Parkhead meeting against the Buddies. However, they failed to beat them in Paisley when these two sides locked horns in late December and the gaffer must motivate his men for all three points before travelling to West Lothian to clash heads with Livingston next Sunday.
Predicted 4-3-3 Celtic Lineup To Face St. Mirren
Defence
Joe Hart grabbed a clean sheet last weekend after a few difficult games across competitions. Hibs could not threaten him enough between the sticks and the veteran custodian would be hoping for another comfortable outing this midweek.
Anthony Ralston remained as an unused substitute against Hibernian, but the aggressive right fullback should return to action replacing Josip Juranovic. Juranovic, meanwhile, might occupy the left-back role after Greg Taylor’s underwhelming display down the wide. Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt are likely to retain their place in the heart of the backline.
Midfield
Skipper Callum McGregor holds the experience as well as expertise to dominate the midfield game from a deep-lying role. He would slot in as the ‘number 6’, allowing Reo Hatate to operate in a box-to-box role. Although the Japanese ace is expected to keep his place in the middle of the park, Matt O’Riley might get the nod over Tom Rogic as the other ‘number 8’ in the starting XI. Rogic has not been at his best of late and a rotation would help the Aussie wizard regain momentum in the decisive phase. The likes of Yosuke Ideguchi, James McCarthy and Nir Bitton should wait for their opportunities from the bench.
Attack
With Kyogo Furuhashi set to make his comeback after the international break, Celtic missed Giorgos Giakoumakis high up the pitch against Hibernian as the Greek centre-forward was ruled out due to illness. Postecoglou hopes to have him available for the Saints tie and his return would see Daizen Maeda making way after a disappointing midweek performance on the road. Veteran James Forrest should be considered down the left, but the in-form Liel Abada must hold on to his starting status as a right-winger. Filipe Jota might get introduced as a ‘super sub’ in the second half.
