Hoops' Prem Push Path at Perth
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~


Nicholas Kuhn opens the scoring in the 4-0 win when these sides last met, back in December

McDiarmid Park, Perth
Sunday, 6 April 2025
12.00 BST

The Hoops can take a massive step toward clinching a 4th consecutive Premiership title, when they go up against relegation threatened St Johnstone on Sunday.

After Saturday's results elsewhere, the Bhoys need a maximum of just 2 more wins to seal the deal on what would be a 55th League triumph, as they look to also lay down a marker against the side who they will be facing in the Scottish Cup Semi-Final.

Celtic were in cruise control last week as they secured a 3-0 win against Hearts, with the damage entirely done in the first half and content to go through the motions after the interval.

The Hoops will want to add to the victories in each of their previous two encounters against the Saints this season; firstly with a 6-0 success in September in Perth followed by the 4-0 win at the end of December at Parkhead.

However, Brendan Rodgers' side has struggled a little for consistency over the past couple of months, with that Hearts result being the first clean sheet in the League since the middle of February, while there have been a couple of stumbles during that time. amd the manager will want to get that flow of consistency back into the side.


Daizen Maeda scored twice vs Hearts last weekend to take his tally to 30 goals so far this season

While Celtic are closing in on being the Champions of Scotland once again, it is very literally the polar opposite for the opposition. Currently sitting at the foot of the Premiership table with 52 points seperating these sides, St Johnstone's top flight status is under very serious threat.

The Perth club have been in the Premiership for the past 16 years, and in terms of silverware are the joint second most successful club in Scotland over that period.

But all that could be coming to an end unless they are able to close the 8 point gap to 11th placed Dundee, in order to even give themselves a chance of survival.

Under Finnish boss, Simo Valakari, there has been a clear uptick in the Saints' recent results, both in the League and Cup, that has given them a bit of belief that they could possibly avoid the drop, but there is still a lot of work to do.

However, last week saw Hibernian extending their unbeaten League run as they eased past the Saints, 3-0, who were fortunate not to find themselves further adrift.

The hosts really cannot afford to lose too much more ground on the likes of Dundee, Killie and County in the race for survival. Nor is the fact that they will face up against Celtic again at Hampden in two weeks, that they will not want to be on the recieving end of a thumping this weekend.

With so much riding on this for both teams, albeit at opposite ends of the League ladder, and the 3 precious points on the line meaning so much to both teams, nothing can be taken for granted this weekend.​

Alistair Johnston in action against the Saints during the 6-0 win in the last visit to McDiarmid Park

By the Numbers​

• The Hoops have won on each of their past 15 straight visits to McDiarmid Park, since May 2016 (13LG 1SC 1LC).

• Daizen Maeda has scored in each of Celtic's last 6 straight games, netting 8 goals om that run - and has 30 for the overall season so far.

• Since the turn of the year, St Johnstone have lost just twice in 8 matches (6LG 2SC) at McDiarmid Park (P8 W4 D2 L2).

December: Paulo Bernardo in action v St Johnstone. The midfielder returned from injury last week

Team News

Brendan Rodgers revealed earlier this week that Kasper Schmeichel (shoulder) is expected to be out for 5-6 weeks, meaning that Viljami Sinisalo will continue between the sticks, and while Auston Trusty is once again available and Liam Scales remains a doubt, it is likely that Maik Newrocki could keep his place in the starting XI.

As for the hosts, they will once again be without Sam McClelland, Bozo Mikulic and Uche Ikpeazu, while the club confirmed earlier this week that Oludare Olufunwa has been released by mutual consent. However, Steven Duke-McKenna has had a full week of training now and could be in contention to start.​

Referee: David Dickinson

This will be Dickinson's 15th Premiership match this season and 60th overall since his debut in March 2021. Celtic remain undefeated in all matches when he has officiated, although the most recent was the 0-0 draw with Dundee United, just prior to Christmas.

Celtic's Overall Record
M:8 W:7 D:1 L:0

VAR: Greg Aitken


~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

Overall
P:228 W:138 D:54 L:36​

Last 5 Meetings
W W W W D

~~~~ 2024/25 Form ~~~~ ​

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

SPFL
W L W W L ~ L D D W L​