Celtic take on St Johnstone this weekend, knowing that three points will take them to the top of the Scottish Premiership table.
Brendan Rodgers’ men arrive into this one off the back of a 4-2 victory over Livingston in the Scottish Cup quarter-final, where they were entertaining in attack and lax in defence.
Daizen Maeda’s hat trick and Kyogo Furuhashi’s late goal were enough to fight off a spirited Lions outfit; however, all focus now turns back to league duty as we look to topple an out-of-form Saints outfit, who have won just one in six.
Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate miss out due to injury; nevertheless, both will be available after the international break.
On a sour note, Luis Palma is now a doubt for the Bhoys’ upcoming clash against Rangers at Ibrox next month after an MRI scan revealed ‘muscular discomfort in his right leg’, which is an unfortunate outcome for all involved as he prepares to sit out international duty to recover.
Despite this, Cameron Carter-Vickers could feature against Craig Levein’s outfit following Rodgers’ decision to leave the United States international out of our home tie last Sunday.
Either way, this weekend is shaping up to be a huge one in the title race, and Celtic have no margin for error as they continue to plot a route to glory.
Craig Levein has his say on Celtic’s chances of winning the title
St Johnstone manager Levein has admitted he was surprised by the ‘unusual’ nature of both Celtic and Rangers losing in the last round of Scottish Premiership fixtures.
Nevertheless, in typical Levein fashion, he isn’t too bothered about who runs out winners in Glasgow, instead choosing to focus solely on events concerning his side
Levein stated [The Courier]: “By this stage of the season, you pretty much know what to expect from every opponent.
“It was unusual to see both Old Firm teams lose on the same weekend, but they seem to have bounced back well in their cup ties.
“They’ve both got the pressure that goes with a tight title race. There’s not a lot between them; it wouldn’t surprise me if either of them end up winning.”
“That’s not our concern, though.”
Frankly speaking, Rodgers probably won’t be looking too far into the future either, as he adopts a game-by-game mantra over the last nine league matches at Parkhead.
First and foremost, taking care of St Johnstone this Saturday will be at the forefront of his mind before enjoying some time to think during the international break.
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