Celtic face St Mirren this afternoon in the final game before the split. The Paisley side, who Celtic meet at Hampden next weekend in the Scottish Cup Semi Final, are enjoying a period of stability under Craig McLeish but they still find themselves near the bottom of the table.
With McLeish at the helm until the end of the season, St Mirren will be focused on survival meaning that they’ll likely attempt to make life difficult for Celtic by suffocating any attacking threat.
Celtic, meanwhile, will want to put the pressure on Rangers and Hearts by beating the Saints as Martin O’Neill’s side look to push up the table and make it 5IAR.
Celtic go into the game with a number of players still sidelined. Cameron Carter-Vickers, Jota and Kasper Schmeichel will not be seen again on the pitch this season, as well as Julian Araujo, who suffered an injury during his rehab at Bournemouth. It remains to be seen if he can return to Paradise on a permanent deal. Colby Donovan is out with a hamstring injury.
Although, Celtic are set to welcome back Alistair Johnston, Callum Osmand and Arne Engels in the near future but today will come too soon for the trio.
You would imagine that the manager will play most of the players that started up at Dens, which resulted in some positive patterns of play in the first half. The only major change – apart from the enforced one at right back – would be who starts up front. Kelechi Iheanacho came on and scored the winner and insists he’s ready to start.
Auston Trusty and Liam Scales will start in the heart of the defence with Kieran Tierney and Anthony Ralston.
Callum McGregor will start in the middle of the park with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Benji Nygren.
In attack, expect Daizen Maeda and Yang to continue out wide with Kelechi Iheanacho leading the line.
The SFA have confirmed the appointment of Duncan Nicolson as the match referee. Nicholson will be assisted by Frank Connor and Scott Anderson as the assistant referees.
Meanwhile, John Beaton is on VAR duty, alongside AVAR Duncan Williams.
It is a sellout at Paradise as the race for the Premiership title continues. The game will not be on television but Celtic TV subscribers outside Britain & Ireland will be able to catch the action with buildup beginning at 2.30pm (Celtic Park Time).