Celts Take Roadshow to Perth

Celts Take Roadshow to Perth
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~


Kyogooooaaalll!: The striker hit his 21st goal of the season in midweek against Livingston


McDiarmid Park, Perth
Saturday, 5 February 2023
12.00 GMT

The Hoops once again are on the road and looking to take another step closer to retaining their League title, as they travel to Perth to take on St Johnstone on Sunday.

Celtic are looking for their 23rd victory of the league campaign this weekend - which will make it 16 wins of the last 17 undefeated played, and maintaining these standards is the challenge for Ange and the Bhoys.

Since Christmas the Celts have kept a clean sheet in all but one game, while at the other end of the park are keeping a sharp edge in attack.

This has spearheaded by Kyogo Furuhashi's 21 goals this season (18 in the league) so far - which has already bettered his contribution to the whole of the 2021/22 campaign - and will no doubt be hungry for more - as will all of the Bhoys.

And after defeating Livingston through the week there, attention now turns to taking on St Johnstone on their own patch tomorrow.


Taylor Made: The fullback fired the Bhoys' opening goal against Livingston on Wednesday

For their part, St Johnstone were able to record their first points of 2023 in midweek, when they defeated Motherwell, 2-0 away at Fir Park, and will be hopeful that they can build on that success in the weeks ahead after enduring a torrid run of form, which saw them lose 6 straight league games in addition to being knocked out of the Scottish Cup also.

And they will be aiming for their first points at home since before the World Cup, when the Hoops visit this weekend.

And while the Motherwell result helped ease some fears of the Perth club keeping their necks above the scramble for survival that is emerging at the foot of the table, there are still other headaches for Sunday's hosts, as they are still embroiled in a dispute with their own support, that could limit Sunday's attendence.


Cameron Carter-Vickers & Carl Starfelt helped notch another clean sheet in midweek

By the Numbers​

• The Hoops are currently on a 14 game undefeated streak in all competitions, winning 13 of those.

• Celtic are undefeated by St Johnstone since May 2016 & have won the last 7 straight meetings between these sides.

• The Bhoys have secured 7 clean sheet in 8 games across all competitions since the last time these sides met.

• Saints' 2-0 win over Motherwell not only was their first of 2023, it also snapped an 7 game losing streak.

December: Reo Hatate netted twice when these sides last met, just before Christmas.

Team News

The Celtic boss reminded everyone this week that there are no guarantees about playing time for anyone while stressing the competition for places in the starting XI is always high. With that in mind it would be a fair guess that the Australian is almost certainly expect some tweaking to the side that started against Livingston.

The only ones not in contention for the Bhoys is Ben Siegrist, with Joe Hart's deputy still out with a calf strain, and Anthony Ralston, who as returned to training once again but this game is perhaps too soon for him to be considered.

As for Callum Davidson's side, they will be without Adam Montgomery, as he is unable to play against Celtic as his parent club, with James Brown potentially filling in, but other than that will likely be close to the one that defeated Motherwell in midweek.​

Referee: David Dickinson

The 43yr old has 20 Premiership matches under his belt after making his debut in March 2021. Sunday will be the third time taking charge of a game involving Celtic - most recently the 4-2 win over Dundee United in November.

Celtic's Overall Record
M: 2 W: 2 D: 0 L: 0

VAR: Greg Aitken​

~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

Overall
P: 222 W: 133 D: 53 L: 36​

Last 5 Meetings
W W W W W

~~~~ 2022/23 Form ~~~~ ​

Overall
W W W W W ~ W L L L L

SPFL
W W W W D ~ W L L L L​