This weekend, Celtic plays St Johnstone with the knowledge that three points will put them atop the Scottish Premiership standings.
The team led by Brendan Rodgers comes into this match fresh off a 4-2 Scottish Cup quarterfinal victory against Livingston, when they were exciting offensively and careless defensively.
Kyogo Furuhashi’s late goal and Daizen Maeda’s hat trick were enough to overcome a determined Lions team. Now, though, all attention is back on league play as we attempt to overcome an unimpressive Saints team, who have only won once in six games.
Despite their injuries, Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate will be available following the international break.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, Luis Palma’s MRI scan indicated “muscular discomfort in his right leg” which means he will miss the Bhoys’ match against Rangers at Ibrox next month. He will now miss the game while recovering after missing international duty.
Despite this, Rodgers’ decision to withdraw the American international from our home match last Sunday means that Cameron Carter-Vickers might play against Craig Levein’s team.
In any case, the title competition is expected to heat up this coming weekend, and Celtic cannot afford to make any mistakes as they continue to chart their path to victory.
Craig Levein weighs in on Celtic’s chances of taking home the championship.
The manager of St Johnstone, Levein, acknowledged that the “unusual” way that Rangers and Celtic lost in the most recent round of Scottish Premiership games caught him off guard.
However, in true Levein form, he chooses to concentrate only on matters pertaining to his side and isn’t really concerned about who wins in Glasgow.
By this point in the season, you very well know what to expect from every opponent, according to Levein [The Courier].
“Both Old Firm teams losing on the same weekend was rare, but they appear to have recovered nicely in their cup matches.
The strain that comes with a close contest for the crown is on both of them. They don’t really differ from one another, therefore it wouldn’t surprise me if they both prevailed.
“But that’s not our concern.”
As he has adopted a game-by-game mentality over the last nine league games at Parkhead, it’s unlikely that Rodgers will be gazing too far ahead either.
His top priority on Saturday will be tending to St Johnstone, and only then will he relish some quiet time over the international break.
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