The Bhoys return to Celtic Park after three games on the road when they welcome the visit of Kilmarnock this afternoon.
Killie have beaten Celtic twice this season, both coming at Rugby Park, and Brendan Rodgers will be hoping to comfortably dispatch of Derek McInnes’ side.
Celtic were successful in the Scottish Cup fifth round against St Mirren last Sunday. with goals from Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda proving enough to see off the Buddies and, after advancing to the quarter-finals, the attention turns back to Premiership action where Celtic will be looking to remain at the top of the league.
Here is A Celtic State of Mind’s team prediction for the visit of Kilmarnock to Celtic Park.
GK – Joe Hart
Hart has been one of the standout performers for Celtic since the turn of the year, with the experienced stopper producing a number of big saves to prevent the Hoops from suffering defeat. After a quiet afternoon in Paisley last week, Hart will be hoping to be relatively untested once again this weekend.
RB – Anthony Ralston
Ralston has been performing well in place of the injured Alistair Johnston. A solid and dependable option whenever he is called upon, Ralston should keep his place in the starting line-up with Johnston not expected to return for this fixture.
CB – Stephen Welsh
Welsh was one of the best players in Paisley last time out as he played a massive contributing factor to limiting St Mirren’s attack. As someone who puts his body on the line for the badge whenever he plays, Stephen Welsh is a key player to have around.
CB – Liam Scales
The Irishman has been taking on more of a leadership role in the absence of Cameron Carter-Vickers, and he will be important to Celtic keeping a clean sheet this weekend.
LB – Greg Taylor
Out of action since the Scottish Cup fourth round victory against Buckie Thistle, Taylor will be fit and ready to return to the team in place of Alexandro Bernabei on Saturday afternoon.
CM – Matt O’Riley
The Dane’s form has been drying up since the turn of the year, with O’Riley looking burnt out after carrying a heavy load in the first six months of the season. His importance to the team is paramount, however, and Rodgers will most likely persist with O’Riley to see him play his way back into form.
CM – Callum McGregor
The best player at the weekend, McGregor will be looking to dictate the tempo and control the game against Kilmarnock.
RW – Daizen Maeda
Back on the scoresheet at the weekend, Daizen Maeda is an incredibly important player to the team that Rodgers will be delighted to have back following the Asian Cup.
LW – Luis Palma
Liel Abada is not in the right frame of mind according to manager Brendan Rodgers, so Luis Palma should keep his place in the Celtic team barring any major surprises with team selection.
ST – Adam Idah
Idah wasn’t the greatest at the weekend, but he will be looking to form a formidable partnership with Kyogo in his short spell at the club, and getting on the scoresheet again this weekend would go a long way in helping towards that.
ST – Kyogo Furuhashi
Kyogo was back in amongst the goals in Paisley, with the change of shape from Brendan Rodgers seeing more involvement in the game for the diminutive forward. Rodgers will be looking for a similar performance from Celtic’s talisman once again this weekend.
JAMES MCKENZIE // Follow James HERE
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