CELTIC recovered from three straight regular-time draws to power past Motherwell 4-0 on Boxing Day.
And they received a late Christmas present later that night as St Mirren beat Rangers, meaning the Hoops lead their rivals by 12 points with the second Old Firm league clash of the season looming.
Brendan Rodgers saw his Celtic team open up a 12-point lead over Rangers on Boxing Day[/caption]
Celts welcomed back goalscoring hero Nicolas Kuhn in their 4-0 beating of Motherwell, whilst rivals Rangers fell to a 2-1 defeat at St Mirren[/caption]
Simo Valakari hasn’t been having such a good time as his St Johnstone side now sit bottom of the Premiership[/caption]
First on the agenda for the Hoops is St Johnstone, who they smashed 6-0 in their first meeting of the season at McDiarmid Park in September.
Brendan Rodgers‘ men were battered 7-1 by Borussia Dortmund in their following match, but Celts haven’t lost a SINGLE ONE of their 17 games since, including picking up the Premier Sports Cup and putting themselves in a favourable position for the Champions League playoffs.
The focus is firmly on the Scottish Premiership now though, with this clash immediately followed by the meeting of the top two next Thursday.
A 0-0 draw with Dundee United before Christmas might have had some Hoops fans sweating at the prospect of going into the derby not on the best form, but three goals in the second half against the Steelmen, plus the return of star man Nicolas Kuhn, will have put the champions in much better mood.
And their preparations for the Old Firm could get even better as they host the division’s bottom side St Johnstone on Sunday.
After two victories in his first three games in charge, Simo Valakari has won just one of the nine matches since, and has seen his team slip to the foot of the table with three straight defeats.
The 6-0 thrashing at McDiarmid Park was under caretaker boss Andy Kirk following Craig Levein‘s departure, but Valakari is still fighting against the weight of history, as Saints haven’t beaten Celtic since 2016.
That match was in the top half of the Premiership after the split, which seems a million miles away for Valakari’s out-of-form charges right now.
With games against fellow strugglers Hibs and Dundee to follow this one, Valakari could look at his trip to Parkhead as a free hit before the matches he really needs his team to win.
It looks a tall order for St Johnstone, but they travel to Glasgow to play Celtic in both teams’ final match of 2024.
What time does Celtic vs St Johnstone kick off?
- Celtic take on St Johnstone on Sunday, 29 December,
- The match kicks off at 3pm UK time.
- It will be held at Celtic Park.
Is Celtic vs St Johnstone on TV and can I live stream it?
- Celtic vs St Johnstone isn’t being shown live on TV in the UK.
- Fans from outside the UK can watch the game on Celtic TV or Saints TV.
- You can follow the action from Parkhead on SunSport’s live match blog.
Team news
Celtic welcomed Nicolas Kuhn back from injury with a goal off the bench against Motherwell, and Hoops fans will hope their star man is fit to start from the off at Parkhead.
This one will likely come too soon for Alistair Johnston, meaning that the Canadian could make his return against Rangers, the team against whom he picked up am injury in the Premier Sports Cup final.
Brendan Rodgers is likely to also be missing James Forrest and Odin Thiago Holm into January.
Simo Valakari doesn’t have any fresh injury concerns, pending confirmation in his press conference.
That means St Johnstone still look set to be without Cameron MacPherson, Uche Ikpeazu and Sam McClelland for their trip to Glasgow.
Latest odds
Celtic 1/8
Draw 9/1
St Johnstone 18/1
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
