St Johnston v Celtic – EPL Index Match Preview
In the latest round of Scottish Premiership action, struggling St Johnstone will be hosting leaders Celtic on Sunday 3rd of December, 2023, 12:00 pm at McDiarmid Park. With St Johnstone fighting to escape the relegation zone and Celtic looking to increase their lead at the top of the table, this is a vital game for both sides.
Past Encounters
The dominance of Celtic over St Johnstone could hardly be any bigger. In their last 10 meetings, Celtic has managed 9 victories, with the other game ending in a draw. That solitary draw occurred in the two sides’ most recent meeting, a 0 – 0 draw at Parkhead in August.
Form: St Johnstone
The Saints have had a mixed bag of results in recent games, with two victories, two defeats and a draw in their last five outings. They were edged out 1-0 by Hearts in their last game, underlining the offensive struggles which have seen them score just eight league goals in 13 games.
FULL TIME’ I Hearts 1-0 Saints
The points remain in Edinburgh thanks to a Liam Boyce goal in the 61st minute
Saints depart to the applause of the away support who backed the lads well all afternoon and appreciated the effort on show#SJFCLive #CinchPremiership pic.twitter.com/zTH36fEuEI
— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) November 25, 2023
St Johnstone: Last 5 Games
- Heart Of Midlothian 1-0 St Johnstone (25th Nov) Scottish Premiership
- St Johnstone 1-0 Ross County (11th Nov) Scottish Premiership
- St Johnstone 2-2 Motherwell (7th Nov) Scottish Premiership
- St Johnstone 2-1 Kilmarnock (1st Nov) Scottish Premiership
- St Mirren 4-0 St Johnstone (28th Oct) Scottish Premiership
Form: Celtic
Celtic have also had mixed fortunes in their last five outings, winning three matches, one ending in a draw, and the other that saw them succumbing to defeat in their UEFA Champions League game against Lazio.
The last 5 games of Celtic
- Lazio 2-0 Celtic (28th Nov) UEFA Champions League
- Celtic 1-1 Motherwell (25th Nov) Scottish Premiership
- Celtic 6-0 Aberdeen (12th Nov) Scottish Premiership
- Atletico Madrid 6-0 Celtic (7th Nov) UEFA Champions League
- Ross County 0-3 Celtic (4th Nov) Scottish Premiership
Injury and Suspension Updates
The Saints are likely to be without Nicky Clark, Andy Considine, Drew Wright and Ross Sinclair, but have no fresh injury concerns.
Celtic have their own long-term injury absentees, with Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Liel Abada all on the sidelines.
Our verdict
Given the form of both squads and Celtic’s recent dominance over St Johnstone, it is hard to see anything other than a comfortable Celtic victory.
If that result does happen, it would further solidify Celtic’s position at the top of the table, whilst plunging St Johnstone deeper into the relegation mire.
