Aiming to bounce back from a disappointing draw at the weekend and move further clear at the Scottish Premiership table, Celtic will welcome St Mirren to Parkhead on Wednesday.

The hosts were held by Hibernian on Saturday but remain five points ahead of the chasing pack, while their visitors sit third after their return to winning ways last time out.

Match preview

Following Wednesday's visitors' loss before the recent international break, Celtic find themselves boasting the Scottish Premiership's only remaining unbeaten record, having earned 26 points from their opening 10 games, five more than Old Firm rivals Rangers in second spot.

In their defence of the title under returning manager Brendan Rodgers, the Glasgow giants won seven of their opening eight league outings prior to the recent October international break while drawing the other, scoring 19 goals along the way while only conceding five.

The Bhoys would then pick up where they left off on their return to action, beating Hearts 4-1 in Edinburgh thanks to goals from Matt O'Riley, Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi and Tomoki Iwata, before hosting Atletico Madrid in the third round of Champions League group games and taking their first point of the continental campaign from a commendable 2-2 draw.

Returning to their league pursuits, the 53-time Scottish champions most recently faced a trip to Easter Road on Saturday to take on Hibernian with the aim of moving onto 28 points from their opening 10 games, but Rodgers's men had to settle for a somewhat disappointing share of the spoils, having failed to break the deadlock for just the second time this term.

With their lead over second-placed Rangers reduced to five points as a result of that minor slip, Celtic will be keen to bounce back to winning ways in midweek and ensure their cushion is not reduced further in their search for a third straight league triumph.

In their way stand a St Mirren side who will aim to build on their own strong start to the Scottish Premiership campaign, as they travel to the capital on the back of an important victory.

After their sixth-placed finish last season, the Saints established themselves in the top three in the early stages of the new term as they remained unbeaten in their opening seven outings, picking up four wins and three draws along the way, scoring 11 goals while only conceding seven along the way.

That streak was eventually halted prior to the international break by a 3-0 beating at the hands of second-placed Rangers, but they bounced back in eye-catching fashion on their return to action last weekend, as Stephen Robinson's side hosted strugglers St Johnstone and dished out a 4-0 beating.

Keanu Baccus had them ahead at the interval of that meeting in Paisley, and Mikael Mandron went on to net a second-half brace before Greg Kiltie added a fourth in the dying minutes.

Now sitting in a pleasing position in third spot after nine games, just three points behind Rangers and five clear of fifth-placed Kilmarnock with a game in hand on both, St Mirren will look to pull off a major upset at Parkhead on Wednesday, after holding Celtic to a 2-2 draw in the Scottish capital the last time the sides met in May, to further strengthen their position at the top end of the division.

Team News

Celtic will continue to deal with several injury issues on Wednesday, as key midfielder Reo Hatate remains confined to the treatment room alongside Stephen Welsh, James McCarthy, Liel Abada and Marco Tilio, while Alistair Johnston is a fresh concern after being forced off in the first half against Hibernian at the weekend with, Anthony Ralston expected to take his place from the start.

In Hatate's absence, Benfica loanee Paulo Bernardo will hope to again join Matt O'Riley and Callum McGregor in the midfield in their 4-3-3 shape, although David Turnbull and Tomoki Iwata are fighting to come in from the outset, while Liam Scales and Cameron Carter-Vickers should continue to get the nod to start at centre-back over Nathaniel Phillips after seeing out another clean sheet at the weekend.

Kyogo Furuhashi is bound to again lead the line, having scored seven goals across Scottish Premiership and Champions League action so far this term, with midfielder O'Riley another key attacking contributor with six goals and four assists to his name this campaign, while Daizen Maeda and Luis Palma should both keep their places on the wings in Abada's absence.

St Mirren may look to name an unchanged starting XI from their dominant victory over St Johnstone, although Robinson does have a decision to make on the right-hand side with Ryan Strain returning to contention after serving a suspension last time out for a red card shown in their defeat to Rangers before the break.

Veteran Ryan Flynn came into their 3-4-3 shape in his absence and will fight for another start, while Marcus Fraser, Alex Gogic and Richard Taylor are bound to line up in an unaltered back three.

Elsewhere, Mikael Mandron will continue to lead the line, after taking his tally to six goals for the season with his brace at the weekend, with Conor McMenamin and Greg Kiltie likely to join him again, while Keanu Baccus and Mark O'Hara should partner up in the engine room.

Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; Ralston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; O'Riley, McGregor, Turnbull; Maeda, Furuhashi, Palma

St Mirren possible starting lineup:
Hemming; Fraser, Gogic, Taylor; Strain, Baccus, O'Hara, Tanser; McMenamin, Mandron, Kiltie

We say: Celtic 2-0 St Mirren

St Mirren have certainly shown their quality throughout the season so far and will be no pushovers on Wednesday, but a trip to Parkhead may be a step too far, and we see the hosts outclassing them and taking all three points on home turf.


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