Celtic will travel to McDiarmid Park to take on St. Johnstone after grabbing a comfortable win against Ross County. The weekend for the Hoops faithful was sweetened further when Hearts managed to take full three points against Rangers. Lennon’s men now lead the table by five points, having played a game more.
St. Johnstone are currently 8th on the table, and they are coming in this tie on the back of a crucial 2-1 win against Kilmarnock. The Hoops gave St. Johnstone a significant drubbing when they squared off against them in August earlier this season. Celtic had managed a 7-0 win with Ryan Christie getting a hattrick. The reigning champions will once again be the favourites to get full three points.
Team News: Kristoffer Ajer is expected to return to training, but he is unlikely to be match ready against St. Johnstone. Ryan Christie will be available after he served his three-game suspension. Mohamed Elyounoussi is still some time away from coming back, and he is going to miss out this tie. Nir Bitton is going to be out for another week. Hatem Abd Elhamed also remains an absentee. Young fullback Jeremie Frimpong is doubtful after he missed the Ross County game.
Celtic Predicted Lineup vs St. Johnstone
Formation (4-2-3-1)
Defence
Fraser Forster is expected to continue in goal for the Bhoys. Jozo Simunovic has looked decent after his comeback from a lengthy injury spell. He is set to start in the centre back role again. He is likely to be partnered by big money signing Christopher Jullien. We believe that Greg Taylor could be given the nod to start at left-back in this encounter. Moritz Bauer will continue at right-back with Frimpong being a significant doubt.
Midfield
Lennon might not make too many changes with his core midfielder starters, and Callum McGregor and Scott Brown will likely carry on their midfield partnership. James Forrest could start on the left-wing in this game as Lennon has used him as an inverted winger in quite a few previous ties. Tom Rogic could take up the role of the attacking midfielder. Ryan Christie is expected to return to the lineup, and he might get the chance to start on the right-wing.
Attack
Odsonne Edouard was good enough to come only on as a substitute against Ross County, but he might start from the beginning against St. Johnstone. Leigh Griffiths will likely have to miss out.
