What TV channel is Celtic v Kilmarnock? How to watch, kick-off time, predicted XIs, referee, VAR

Brendan Rodgers’ side will mark last season’s championship success in front of 60,000 fans at a sold-out Celtic Park with Lisbon Lion Jim Craig being given the honour of unfurling the league flag ahead of kick-off.

The Hoops go into the new campaign on the back of an excellent pre-season – described by Rodgers as one of his "best ever” – after impressive victories over English champions Manchester City and big-spending Chelsea during their US tour.

Kilmarnock’s season is already underway as they go into the league curtain-raiser on the back of suffering a Europa League exit at the hands of Cercle Brugge after a 1-1 draw in the home leg at Rugby Park was followed by a 1-0 defeat in Belgium on Thursday.

Killie have the safety net of a place in the Conference League third qualifying round where they will come up against Norwegian outfit Tromso but focus turns to the start of the domestic campaign this weekend as Derek McInnes’ side look to build on last season’s fantastic fourth-placed finish.

Celtic v Kilmarnock match details

The Scottish Premiership match takes place at Celtic Park, Glasgow, on Sunday, August 4, 2024. Kick-off is 4.30pm.

Celtic v Kilmarnock TV channel

The game will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football with coverage starting at 4pm. Match highlights will be broadcast on Sportscene on BBC Scotland at 7.15pm and repeated on BBC One Scotland 11.50pm.

Celtic v Kilmarnock live stream

Sky Sports subscribers can watch via the Sky Go app. Those without a Sky Sports subscription can purchase a day pass from Now TV for a one-off payment of £14.99 or a monthly membership for the current offer price of £26 per month for six months.

Celtic v Kilmarnock team news and predicted XIs

Celtic go into the new season without much difference to the squad that claimed the title last term. Goalkeepers Kasper Schmeichel and Viljami Sinisalo, and midfielder Paolo Bernardo, who was on loan with the club last season, are the only new recruits thus far, with Bernardo only arriving 24 hours ago and not deemed fit enough to be considered for selection against Kilmarnock. Daizen Maeda is also likely to miss out after suffering a bruised knee in the pre-season win over Chelsea but fellow winger Nicolas Kuhn is expected to make it after sitting out the Blues match with a back strain.

Celtic predicted XI (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Ralston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; McGregor, O’Riley, Hatate; Kuhn, Furuhashi, Palma.

Kilmarnock will add new signing Oliver Bainbridge to their squad after the left-sided defender joined on a season-long loan from Sunderland on Friday. The 19-year-old could be thrown straight in for a baptism of fire debut due to the defensive issues facing manager Derek McInnes. Joe Wright is a major doubt after going off injured during the defeat in Brugge on Thursday while Robbie Deas is suspended.

Kilmarnock predicted XI (3-5-1-1): McCrorie; Mayo, Findlay, Bainbridge; Armstrong, Watson, Lyons, Polworth, Kennedy; Watkins; Vassell.

Celtic v Kilmarnock referee and VAR

Don Robertson is the match referee with Greg Aitken on VAR duty.

Match odds

Celtic 1/6, Draw 15/2, Kilmarnock 17/1 – via oddschecker.com.

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