Celtic have some ground to catch up on after the Scottish Premiership winter break, currently sitting second and six points behind leaders Rangers, and they host Hibernian in the first gameweek of 2022 in Scotland.

The visitors currently sit in fifth spot, four points clear of seventh place and they will be aiming to continue their four-game unbeaten run in the league.

Match preview

Celtic have not tasted defeat in the league since September but their three losses in the first six games is proving to be costly at the moment as their current good run of form has not seen them catch table-toppers Rangers.

After a frustrating goalless draw with St Mirren, Ange Postecoglou's side returned to winning ways last time out with a 3-1 win against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park in Perth.

Nir Bitton and a brace from Liel Abada were enough for the Hoops to see off St Johnstone, and it was a dominant performance from the away side, who registered 10 shots on target in total.

Celtic's record on home soil this season has almost been perfect, picking up 23 points from a possible 27 and they currently remain unbeaten at Celtic Park which is something that they will need to continue if they are to leapfrog Rangers into top spot.

Shaun Maloney is the third manager to oversee Hibernian this season, after Jack Ross was dismissed in December for David Gray to temporarily take charge of the team for three matches.

The new boss's start to life at Easter Road Stadium has been just how he would have wished, with two wins out of two under his belt, most recently beating Dundee United 3-1.

Kevin Nisbet, Chris Cadden and Jamie Murphy got on the scoresheet in that game, which was vital in the context of the division as it ensured that Hibernian went four points clear of seventh place as opposed to allowing Dundee United to leapfrog them.

Hibs are only two points behind fourth-placed Motherwell and they will be keen to take early strides towards securing a top six finish in the early part of the second half of the campaign, starting with taking points off Celtic.

These two sides already know each other very well having played twice before during this campaign, with Celtic getting the better of Hibs on both occasions, the first coming in the league and the second meeting coming in the League Cup final.

Team News

Albian Ajeti, Christopher Jullien, David Turnbull, Georgios Giakoumakis, Jota and Karamoko Dembele could all make their returns to the Celtic matchday squad after being sidelined with injury.

Kyogo Furuhashi was forced off after just 15 minutes against St Johnstone, but the Japanese international is expected to recover from that knock in time for this clash.

Daniel MacKay, Kyle Magennis and Sean Mackie are all expected to be fit for Hibernian after being sidelined with injuries, while Jack Doyle-Hayes made an immediate return last time out after being forced off in the 34th minute against Aberdeen.

Hibs are expected to line up in a 3-4-1-2 formation with Nisbet and Martin Boyle leading the line, and Drey Wright operating in the number 10 role just behind the forward pair.

Cadden and Josh Doig will provide the width for Hibernian from their wing-back positions, and they could come up against Abada and Michael Johnson who are likely to play on the wings for Celtic.

Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; Taylor, Starfelt, Carter-Vickers, Juranovic; McCarthy, Bitton, Rogic; Johnson, Furuhashi, Abada

Hibernian possible starting lineup:
Macey; Stevenson, Hanlon, Porteous; Doig, Campbell, Doyle-Hayes, Cadden; Wright; Nisbet, Boyle

We say: Celtic 2-1 Hibernian

Celtic are strong favourites for this encounter having beaten Hibs twice already this season and given their excellent home form, and putting that all together should be enough for Celtic to claim all three points.

Hibs could get on the scoresheet after learning about the Hoops' weaknesses from their last two encounters, but the hosts should have enough quality to surpass anything Hibs throw at them.

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