Celts Face Killie Ahead of Split
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~


January: skipper Callum McGregor with a trademark long range strike v Killie in the Scottish Cup


Celtic Park, Glasgow
Saturday, 12 April 2025
12.30 BST

The Hoops return home to Parkhead for Saturday's lunchtime kick off, with Killie being the visitors and the Hoops still in need of two wins to secure the Premiership title for a 4th straight season.

Hopefully Brendan Rodgers and his side will have learned from the disappointing trip to Perth last week, and are both a little chastized as well as hungrier and motivated to perform after the 1-0 defeat to bottom side, St Johnstone.

The Bhoys are currently 13 points clear at the top of the Premiership ladder following that performance. The thing is, the last time that Celtic faced Killie (back in mid-January in the Scottish Cup), that was the same gap at the top of the Premiership table, which illustrates that Celtic have spurned already too many opportunities to extend that lead and could have had the title already wrapped up at this point.

Prior to this season, Killie have often proved a thorn in Brendan Rodgers' side, but so far there has been no such stumble this campaign, with the Bhoys having won 4-0 back in August, as well as securing another 2-0 success at Rugby Park in November, as well as the 2-1 Scottish Cup win, back in January.

But there is more pressing concern, with the St Johnstone result adding to those woes, meaning the Hoops now having lost 3 of their past 6 Premiership matches at a time of the seaosn when the fixture congestion has eased considerably.

Whether it has been a matter of motivation or preparedness, a sense of being too comfortable, an inability to defend set pieces, allowing standards to drop, or being too rigid in the team structure, formation and tactics has made Celtic a degree predictable for oppositions to find ways to counter, the bottom line is, the job is not done yet, so there really should be no excuses for another underwhelming performance, and it is up to the manager to sort it out.


Brendan Rodgers has some thinking to do to sort out Celtic's recent inconsistent form issues

Derek McInnes' side has struggled to replicate the sort of form that they displayed in 2023/24, when they managed to finish 4th in the League and had a few European adventures in the early stages of this season as a reward, but that must seem a lifetime ago now for their players and fans.

Here we are in April and on the cusp of the Split, and Killie find themsevles currently sitting in 10th, no doubt glancing nervously over their shoulder to Dundee and St Johnstone below them, and appear to be in danger of being sucked into a relegation dogfight to avoid a potential trapdoor.

Killie are coming into this game on the back of a 2-0 win at home against Motherwell, and while that has snapped a 5 game sequence without a win, it should be noted that there 'Away' form has been a big problem in their fight for League safety. Killie have picked up just 2 points on the road since the end of October, and have nothing at all to show from any of their ventures away from Rugby Park so far in 2025.

Given the form and priorities for each team, it could make for a very interesting afternoon considering what is at stake. Celtic will undoubtedly go into the match as favourites, but if last weekend's performance and result against St Johnstone has done anything, it hopefully has served as a timely reminder, that nothing can be taken for granted.

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Stats & Facts​

• The Hoops have been undefeated by Kilmarnock at Parkhead in any competition (W16 D4 L0) since October 2012.

• Brendan Rodgers will hope to continue improving upon his overall patchy personal record against Killie (P18 W11 D3 L4).

• No team has picked up more red cards in the League this season than Kilmarnock (7).

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Greg Taylor has made over 200 appearances for Celtic since joining from Kilmarnock in 2019

Team News

Brendan Rodgers is expected to have close to a full squad to choose from, with the exception of Kasper Schmeichel (shoulder), who is not expected to return until next month, and Liam Scales also remains a doubt.

However, the question of the starting XI could be open to speculation, considering the apparent drop in form from a number of players who have been starting regularly recently, and the manager hinted at this following the underwhelming performance last week, which seems to be part of a trend.​

The visitors will continue to be without long term absentee, Stuart Findlay (ankle), while both Kyle Magennis and Tom Wilson-Brown are both considered to be doubts. However, club captain Kyle Vassell could be back in contention after his own recent injury issues.

Referee: John Beaton

This Saturday will mark a milestone 250th Premiership match for the 43y.o. Beaton since his debut in 2012. The Bhoys have emerged victorious in both previous league matches the season when he has had the whistle, with the 5-1 win against Aberdeen back in February the most recent.

Celtic's Record with Beaton
M:58 W:44 D:11 L:3

VAR: Gavin Duncan



~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

Overall
P:263 W:174 D:57 L:32

Last 5 Meetings
W W W W D

~~~~ 2024/25 Form ~~~~ ​

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

SPFL
L W L W W ~ W L D L L​