Predicted Celtic Line-up To Face St. Johnstone In The Scottish Premiership
Celtic will travel to the McDiarmid Park this weekend, as they gear up to take on sixth-placed St. Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.
The reigning champions sit atop the table with 27 points from 11 fixtures this season and come into the game after having played out a 1-1 draw against Kilmarnock last weekend, which was followed by a 2-1 loss to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League during the midweek.
Manager Brendan Rodgers will be keen on getting back to winning ways and extend their unbeaten run in domestic games to a record 63 games, which will lead them to breaking a British record that has stood for 100 years. The two teams have already met once this term, with the match ending in a one-all stalemate back in August.
Team News
On-loan winger Patrick Roberts has been ruled out for four to six weeks, due to a hamstring injury he picked up in last weekend’s fixture against the Killies. Olivier Ntcham is also likely to miss out, after he too had picked up an injury last week. Defenders Anthony Ralston, Jozo Simunovic and Erik Sviatchenko are all doubtful to feature this weekend.
Here’s how the Hoops might line up against the Saints come Saturday;
Manager: Brendan Rodgers
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Craig Gordon (GK)
The veteran Scottish shot-stopper is a permanent fixture between the posts for the Hoops. He will once again line up in goal at the McDiarmid Park.
Mikael Lustig (RB)
The Swedish right-back has been in fine form coming into this game and will look to continue the good work against the Saints as well.
Nir Bitton (CB)
The Israeli midfielder put in a solid display in the midweek defeat against Bayern Munich. With the likes of Simunovic and Sviatchenko still not 100%, he should continue in the centre-half role.
Dedryck Boyata (CB)
The former Manchester City man’s mistake cost Celtic on Tuesday against Bayern. Will be keen on putting that behind when he takes the field on Saturday.
Kieran Tierney (LB)
The 20-year old left-back is clearly a special talent and has everything it takes to make it big in the footballing world. A definite starter for the champions.
Scott Brown (CM)
An ever-present in the starting XI, club captain and midfielder Scott Brown will lead the team out on the pitch on Saturday.
Stuart Armstrong (CM)
With Ntcham injured, Rodgers will not have the option to rotate and could be forced to stick with Stuart Armstrong in the middle of the park for Saturday’s encounter.
James Forrest (RW)
The Scottish winger was exceptional against Bayern over the weekend and will look to make the most of Patrick Roberts’ injury-enforced absence in the coming weeks.
Callum McGregor (CAM)
The midfielder found the back of the net against Die Roten in the midweek game and looks good for another start ahead of Tom Rogic.
Scott Sinclair (LW)
The English attacker hasn’t been at his best in the recent few fixtures. Needs to start scoring again to add to his 3 Premiership goals this season.
Leigh Griffiths (ST)
The forward was on the scoring charts last weekend against the Killies and might find himself in the line-up ahead of Moussa Dembele.