Celtic will aim to make it 18 games unbeaten in the Scottish Premiership as they welcome basement club St Johnstone to Celtic Park this weekend (Kick-off at 3pm).
The Scottish champions responded to their 0-0 draw against Dundee United last weekend by taking down Motherwell 4-0 on boxing day, thanks to goals from Arne Engels, Daizen Maeda, Nicolas Kuhn and Reo Hatate, with Brendan Rodgers’ side holding a commanding 12-point lead over second-placed Rangers.
At the opposite end of the table is Simo Valakari’s visiting St Johnstone, who arrive in Glasgow in a desperate need for points after their 2-1 home defeat to Dundee United. Despite taking a first-half lead, the Perthshire outfit made it 13 points lost from winning positions this season after early second-half goals from Glenn Middleton and Sam Dalby. They are now bottom of the table following a run of just one win in nine games.
Both sides enter the game with a number of injuries concerns, with Celtic still uncertain of the availability of one key player, with a couple of others set to miss out with longer term issues. St Johnstone could be without four first team players for the game, though they have been boosted by the recent return of Lewis Neilson, Kyle Cameron and Nicky Clark.
Ahead of the clash at Celtic Park, The Scotsman brings you all the early team news:
1. Alistair Johnston - Celtic - DOUBT
The full-back has missed the last two games with a hip-flexor injury and is a doubt for the weekend's game at Celtic Park. With a big Old Firm coming up just a few days later, Brendan Rodgers may opt to persist with Tony Ralston at right-back in order to give the Canadian further time to rest. Rodgers offered fans an update on boxing day, confirmed Johnston had "been out running and "doing some really good work" though, so a return is clearly close. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
2. Barry Douglas - St Johnstone - OUT
The experienced full-back is still out with injury and won't not feature at Celtic Park. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
3. James Forrest - Celtic - OUT
The experienced Celtic forward is set to be out for another five weeks on the sidelines after picking up an injury in the Premier Sports Cup win over Rangers earlier in the month. | Getty Images Photo: Getty Images
4. Uche Ikpeazu - St Johnstone - OUT
Has yet to play a minute of football for the Perthshire side due to an accident at home which has left him requiring knee surgery. Not expected to feature against Celtic. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group