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Celts & Saints Christmas Clash

Discussion in 'TalkCeltic News' started by Taz, Dec 22, 2022.

By Taz on Dec 22, 2022 at 7:16 PM
  1. Taz Blind Justice Gold Member News Writer

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    Celts & Saints Christmas Clash
    ~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~

    [​IMG]
    The Bhoys congratulate Liel Abada after his cross lead to the opener against Livingston

    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]
    Celtic Park, Glasgow
    Saturday, 24 December 2022
    12.30 GMT

    The Hoops are once again at home this weekend, for a Christmas Eve showdown with St Johnstone, looking for an eleventh straight win, and to maintain the perfect record at home, having won all 8 league games at Paradise this season.

    Despite the recent scorelines not being a totally fair reflection of how much the Bhoys have been dominating the two games, against Aberdeen and Livingston, since the resumption after the World Cup.

    Naturally, there is some mild concern over the conversion rate of chances created to goals actually being scored, however there is always a part of the season where things can get a bit scrappy and tne important thing is that Celtic have continued to find a way to win these games.

    Perhaps there is still a little rust after the World Cup break, but with so many fixtures coming thick and fast, it is something that hopefully will be rectified, as a priority, every bit as much as the bad habit of conceding needless goals.

    And all every Celtic fan will want for Christmas is another 3 points, that will close out the final fixture at Paradise for 2022 ahead of away trips to Easter Road followed by the new year derby at Govan.

    [​IMG]
    Kyogooooaaaallll!: The Japanese frontman nets the Bhoys second goal on Wednesday

    St Johnstone really seem to have turned the corner after a disappointing 2021/22 campaign, which saw them only narrowly avoid relegation after the double Cup winning exploits of the season before. The last time the Perthshire side visited Paradise they were on the end of a 7-0 mauling, shortly before the split, last season.

    The last meeting between these sides in October saw the Saints draw level deep into stoppage time, only for Alexandro Bernabei combining with Gorgios Giakoumakis to * the win for Celtic with literally the last kick of the game.

    Keeping faith in manager Callum Davidson has provided the stability all too rarely seen in the modern game and that has shown this season, with the Saints currently on a 6 game unbeaten streak, taking 14 points from a possible 18, including wins over Hibernian, Kilmarnock, Sevco and most recently, Ross County.

    Incidently, this is the second straight year that these two sides have been pitted against each other, either one day before or one day after Christmas, so could this be the beginning of a new recurring fixture - The Celts and Saints Christmas Clash-ic?​


    [​IMG]
    October: Gorgios Giakoumakis scored the dramatic late winner when these sides last met

    By the Numbers

    • The Hoops are currently on a 10 Premiership game winning streak going into this match.
    • Celtic are undefeated domestically at Paradise since January 2021
    • St Johnstone are currently on a 6 game unbeaten run, taking 14 from a possible 18 points in that time, which means that they are the next most in-form team in the Premiership over that period, aside from Celtic.
    • The Hoops are undefeated by the Perthshire outfit since May 2016, and undefeated at Parkhead for over a decade, dating back to August 2011.
    [​IMG]
    Liel Abada put in another hugely impressive performance against Livingston on Wednesday

    Team News

    The Celtic faithful continue to wait for the first glimpse of new Bhoys Alistair Johnston and Yuki Kobayashi, who are ineligible to play until January. Elsewhere, James McCarthy is also out with a continued hamstring problem while it remains to be seen if Tony Ralston will be available, with Josip Juranovic still not expected to return to Glasgow until next week.

    Moritz Jenz remains one booking away from picking up an automatic suspension.

    As for Callum Davidson's side, defender Alex Mitchell could be available after missing the last couple of games through suspension, however they will definitely be without on-loan Celt, Adam Montgomery, who cannot play against his parent club. This is in addition to Callum Booth (achilles) and Cammy McPherson (hamstring) as well as long term absentee, Chris Kane.​

    Referee: Kevin Clancy

    Clancy made his top flight debut in 2012 and has officiated 188 Premiership matches since. Saturday will be the second time taking charge of a game involving Celtic this season, following the 2-0 win over Hearts back in August.

    Celtic's Overall Record
    M: 47 W: 34 D: 8 L: 5

    VAR: Mike Roncone


    [​IMG]

    [​IMG] ~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~ [​IMG]

    Overall
    P: 221 W: 132 D: 53 L: 36

    Last 5 Meetings
    W W W W W

    [​IMG] ~~~~ 2022/23 Form ~~~~ [​IMG]

    Overall
    W W W W W ~ W D D W W

    SPFL
    W W W W W ~ W D D W W
     
    Last edited: Dec 22, 2022
    The Prof and tarboltontim like this.