Celtic Predicted Lineup for Away Trip to St Johnstone

On paper, this should be Celtic’s easiest away trip of the season. After 31 games, they face a St Johnstone side sitting bottom of the table, and five points off Dundee. Yet, games aren’t played on paper, and despite a dreadful league position, the Saints have improved as of late. Before a humbling 3-0 loss in the capital to the high-flying Hibernian, they were unbeaten in four and seemingly picking up momentum. So, on Sunday afternoon, how will Brendan Rodgers’ men set up to ensure all three points? We answer just that, with our Celtic Predicted Lineup.

Celtic Predicted Lineup vs St Johnstone

How Celtic Have Lined Up Recently

Celtic returned to winning ways last week, with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Hearts.

Vilijami Sinisalo made his league debut for the Bhoys. Unsurprisingly, the Finn had very little to do. Although his services were called upon early doors, he answered with two smart saves.

Outfield, it was a similar team to the one which fielded against Rangers.

Alistair Johnson, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Maik Nawrocki and Jeffrey Schlupp played in the back four.

It may have seemed impossible just a matter of weeks ago, but Nawrocki seems to have nailed down a spot in the defence. The 24-year-old is adept on the ball, with arguably the best distribution of any centre-back at the club, but does show moments of rashness in defence. In particular, there were some hairy moments with the Pole’s clearances heading towards his own goal, but on the whole, it was another positive display.

In midfield, Callum McGregor returned alongside Reo Hatate and Arne Engels.

Up front, Nicolas Kuhn, Daizen Maeda and Jota started.

All three directly combined for the three goals, with Maeda bagging another brace to take him towards the 30 mark for the season. It’s proving to be a truly remarkable season for the 27-year-old who has played the majority of the season as a wide forward. His goalscoring instinct and movement were clear, yet as a number nine, his threat has increased. His movement off the shoulder is as good as there has been in Scottish football.

Maeda, rather unbelievably, having started just five matches as a striker, has racked up nine goals in that period.

Celtic’s Recent Form and Tactics

The 3-0 win over Hearts was exactly what the doctor ordered after a disappointing derby display. Just like Rangers did, Hearts pressed the game in a narrow structure. However, the home side were much more comfortable in dealing with this. At times they soaked up pressure with their passing then played through with midfield rotations. Nothing showed this more than the first goal, with McGregor and Hatate to rotating places to confuse the Hearts runners. This left the Captain in an advanced position to set up Maeda.

Both of Celtic’s other goals came from direct-countering play at a blistering pace. It was very reminiscent of Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton side as they turned a build-up situation into a counterattack with such ease.

Admittedly, the level of opposition was lower, yet Rodgers can still be satisfied with the considerable improvements.

Injuries to Consider

Liam Scales remains the only absentee.