Prematch with A Celtic State of Mind – Kilmarnock at Home

With Celtic now entering a busy match schedule across three competitions, I expect Neil Lennon to make use of the squad available to him. The exertions from the positive performance in Brittany on Thursday night may see Brown and Forrest rested. However, momentum is the key to maintaining our perfect start to the league campaign.

Kilmarnock have shaken off a disappointing start to the league after losing their first two matches and now find themselves mid-table with seven points.

Lennon and the fans will be hoping for a more consistent performance than that shown on the artificial surface in Hamilton last week, especially with this being our first match at Celtic Park in almost four weeks.

Celtic to win 3-0 & Olivier Ntcham to score anytime.

Martin Donaldson

Less than 72 hours after the fantastic performance away to Rennes, Celtic return back to Paradise for the first time since Bayo bagged two against Hearts.

Coming up against a resurgent Kilmarnock side, this could be a difficult task for the Hoops who could offer a debut to ex-Killie player, Greg Taylor, following Boli Bolingoli’s injury.

Both James Forrest and Callum McGregor look to be a bit lethargic, most likely down to the number of games both have played over the last 12 months, and we could see a few changes to the side with Mikey Johnston and Leigh Griffiths back in contention.

Kilmarnock have only conceded four goals in five games and will most likely come to Celtic Park to defend, therefore it is imperative that Celtic get a goal early on and don’t spend the majority of the match frustrated in front of goal.

My prediction is Celtic to win 3-0 with Mo Elyounoussi scoring anytime.

Colin Watt

The Bhoys are in a good place at the moment and we want that to continue. Momentum is a big thing in football and we are on that bus. With this in mind, I don’t expect many changes from the team that started against Rennes. Our coaching staff could look to the League Cup tie against Partick Thistle to rest legs and give others game time.

The other reason is our opponents. Since their league defeat to Hamilton, they have beaten St Johnstone and Hibs, and drawn with Aberdeen. The form of a side with top-six ambitions. We can’t take chances.

We have to factor in the fabled European hangover where the high of top-level competition is replaced by the comedown of domestic duties. This could see this game not decided until late on and with our options from the bench, we are well served if this is the case.

With Mo Elyounoussi in line to make his Celtic Park bow, I’m going for the magic of Paradise to work and for him to score first and Celtic to win 2-0.

Kevin Graham