Two teams at opposite ends of the Scottish Premiership table will compete on Wednesday as second-placed Celtic will travel to face St. Mirren, who sit just three points above the relegation zone. The Hoops head into this match after winning the Scottish League Cup at the weekend. Meanwhile, the hosts have failed to win their nine previous matches.
Kyogo Furuhashi was the hero on Sunday as his second-half brace brought Celtic from behind to defeat Hibernian and claim the first available silverware of the season as they became the Scottish League Cup champions. The victory was the seventh in a row for the squad, who have been dominant as of late, with the club now hoping to extend that run to maintain their pressure on Rangers at the top of the table.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have been dominant both offensively and defensively this season. Only the Rangers have scored more goals, while no team has conceded fewer than them. The above visual shows us their shot map from the game against Ross County. They attempted a total of 26 shots on goal but managed to have only seven shots on target. They failed to keep most of their efforts on target and were saved by a late goal from defender Anthony Ralston in added time.
The hosts will need a much-improved performance to have any hope of taking points on Wednesday as they are suffering from a nine-game run without a win. The Buddies have only won a single game at home this season, which is not a positive situation ahead of this match, but adding a second victory in front of their fans against Celtic could turn their season around.
Joe Shaughnessy was able to score an 87th-minute goal last weekend during their most recent outing, which did rescue a point for his team in a 1-1 draw against Hibernian. However, they have conceded 29 goals this season, with only two teams in the league boasting a weaker record than them. They have an xG of 28.40 against them, and their defensive abilities will be tested against the Hoops.
With just three points separating them and the relegation zone right now, there is a lot on the line in this match as a defeat could see them slump down.
Celtic are enjoying a fantastic run at the moment and coming off a cup final victory, they should have no shortage of confidence and momentum right now. With St. Mirren struggling of late, this should be a routine victory for the Hoops, who will be looking to place the pressure back on Rangers.
St Mirren predicted starting lineup:
Alnwick, Shaughnessy, Dunne, Fraser, Millar, Flynn, Power, Tanser, McGrath, Kiltie, Main.
Celtic predicted starting lineup:
Hart, Taylor, Scales, Carter-Vickers, Juranovic, McGregor, Johnston, Rogic, Abada, Bitton, Furuhashi.
