The fight to close the gap with league leaders Rangers gets real this weekend as Celtic hosts St. Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership. The match schedules for Saturday at Celtic Park with kickoff at 5 pm.
The club’s form deteriorated roughly as the international break, with the club having only won two games so far in the league.
Three consecutive victories in the Scottish Premiership and the Champions League has lifted hope among Celtic fans.
Furthermore, the Hoops won 3-1 against Aberdeen before the international break. They then proceeded to beat Motherwell 2-0 on Saturday.
In a 2-0 win over Ross County, Jota and David Turnbull got themselves on the scoresheet as they won 74% of their possession as an impressive performance was produced from the squad.
Kyoto Furuhashi found the back of the net as an own goal, then helped secure the result when Ange Postecoglou’s team extended their winning ways in the Champions League on Tuesday when they beat Ferencvaros.
At the moment, they are four points behind Rangers. A victory could be enough to take them as high as second place. That would get them back into the title race.
As for the visitors, they are not enjoying quite as much success as they sit in eighth place at the moment with just two victories in the opening nine fixtures.
Celtic vs. St. Johnstone Head to Head
Both sides have 48 games against each other, with Celtic taking 37 wins while St. Johnstone has four wins. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Celtic 2-0 Ferencvaros
- Motherwell 0-2 Celtic
- Aberdeen 1-2 Celtic
- Celtic 0-4 Bayer Leverkusen
- Celtic 1-1 Dundee United
Away
- St. Johnstone 0-3 Livingston
- St. Johnstone 3-1 Dundee United
- Hibernian 1-0 St. Johnstone
- Dundee United 0-2 St. Johnstone
- Aberdeen 0-1 St. Johnstone
Celtic Team News
Since last year, defender Christopher Jullien has been out of action, but he is nearing his return to fitness. He could soon be available for selection. Josip Juranovic and James Forrest remain absent from Celtic’s squad as they push to return from their respective injuries.
St. Johnstone Team News
St Johnstone could be set to have both Ali Crawford and Liam Gordon as they have been involved in training throughout the week.
Prediction and Odds
With the Hoops now putting pressure on the teams above them, this is not a game they will want to slip upon. This is why they should win comfortably.
- Celtic Win
- Goals Over 2.5
- No Score: Away
