A dreadful midweek defeat against Lazio made Celtic the first British club to go 15 consecutive games without a win in the Champions League/European Cup. They have no hope left in Europe, but the Premiership silverware is still up for the grab as they maintain a comfortable 8-point lead over Rangers at the top of the standings. A blip against Motherwell should not matter a lot ahead of locking horns with St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.
The Saints are struggling at the wrong end of the table with just two wins in 13 outings. The fear of relegation is looming large unless they improve their game and script a turnaround in the coming days. The Celts settled for a stalemate when these two sides clashed heads at Parkhead early into the campaign. Yet they remain outright favourites to clinch all three points against Craig Levein’s men.
Predicted 4-2-3-1 Celtic Lineup To Face St Johnstone
Defence
Brendan Rodgers has relied on Joe Hart as the Bhoys’ ‘number 1’ across competitions. The veteran Englishman must aim for a clean sheet after conceding late goals both against Motherwell and Lazio.
Alistair Johnston should feature from the right even though Anthony Ralston was handed a rare start versus the Well. Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales are the preferred central defensive pairing over Stephen Welsh, Nat Phillips, Gustaf Lagerbielke and Maik Nawrocki. Greg Taylor is likely to retain his left fullback role with Alexandro Bernabei still struggling for minutes despite joining the Glasgow giants back in July 2022.
Midfield
Skipper Callum McGregor must drive the show as a deep-lying playmaker. His vision, distribution and game-reading traits should help the Hoops set attacking transitions in motion from the centre of the pitch. Matt O’Riley has cemented his ‘number 8’ spot, but the likes of Odin Thiago Holm, Paulo Bernardo and David Turnbull have been rotated extensively for the other box-to-box role in the wake of Reo Hatate’s injury absence. Turnbull might return to the starting XI having been deployed sporadically in recent weeks.
Attack
Yang Hyun-jun has failed to step in from the right amid injuries to Daizen Maeda and Liel Abada. But he is expected to keep hold of his first-team status ahead of Mikey Johnston and James Forrest. Luis Palma missed the Lazio tie due to suspension but is set to return to action from the left-hand flank. Kyogo Furuhashi should spearhead the attack, whereas Oh Hyeon-gyu must continue as the understudy to their Japanese hitman.
