Celtic will look to bounce back from the midweek UEFA Champions League heartbreak this afternoon when Derek McInnes’ Kilmarnock arrive in Glasgow’s East End. Brendan Rodgers’ team conceded in the 95th minute and the manager will be hoping that his side can show some resilience by taking maximum points from the Rugby Park outfit.
Last weekend, Celtic opened up a seven point lead over theRangers and a five point lead over St Mirren with a late win against Motherwell at Fir Park. In a wild eight minute period, Celtic thought they had won it through Luis Palma before Blair Spittal equalised. Then, Greg Taylor found Matt O’Riley with a sumptuous pass with an equally brilliant finish.
Team News
Joe Hart missed the win last weekend through suspension and he will return to the Starting XI this afternoon.
🟢 Matchday! ⚪
🆚 Kilmarnock
🏆 #cinchPrem
⌚ 3:00pm
🏟️ Celtic Park
📺 Live on @CelticTV (exc. UK & IRE)#CELKIL | #CelticFC🍀 pic.twitter.com/kax8joZKqK— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) October 7, 2023
Celtic go into the game with buoyed by the return of Cameron Carter-Vickers, who made his return midweek. The American defender could come in from the start as the manager looks to get him back up to maximum sharpness, especially ahead of the crucial run of fixtures at the end of this month. Stephen Welsh and Maik Nawrocki remain out. Gustaf Lagerbielke was suspended during the week and he returns to the squad.
Callum McGregor will start in the midfield, along with Matt O’Riley. The third spot may well be Reo Hatate; however, the maverick midfielder looked somewhat out of sorts in the middle on Wednesday, taking a punch to the head may have impacted upon that. You would not be surprised to see Paulo Bernardo come into the team, he showed glimpses and the manager may wish to see what the Portuguese midfielder can offer by giving him his first start.
In attack, Kyogo will start through the middle. Daizen Maeda was good for the goal but it may be an opportunity to start Luis Palma on the left with either Maeda on the left or someone like James Forrest. The manager will want to use the pace of Maeda to really get at Killie.
Predicted XI: Hart; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; McGregor, O’Riley, Bernardo; Maeda, Kyogo, Palma.
Match Officials
Matthew MacDermid will referee the match. The rookie whistleblower refereed the 0-0 draw with St Johnstone earlier this season. David McGeachie and Alastair Mather will be operating as Assistant Referees with George Calder working as Fourth Official. At Clydesdale House, David Dickinson is on VAR duties with John McCrossan on AVAR.
Kick Off Time
The game will kick off at 3pm (Celtic Park Time). Conditions are wet and rain is forecast for all afternoon.
Where to Watch
The game will not be show live on TV in Britain or Ireland but will be available on Celtic TV for subscribers outside Britain and Ireland.
⚽️ Larsson doing what he did best against Kilmarnock
📺 Join us for LIVE* coverage today from 2.30pm
*live video only outside the UK/Ireland pic.twitter.com/lZShWaburs
— Celtic TV (@CelticTV) October 7, 2023
And our predicted score? Celtic 4 Killie 0.
What’s Up Next after Today’s Game
Brendan Rodgers and his squad go into the international break so a chance for some to get some recovery, others to go away and play for their countries and the Celtic support to take stock on the season so far.
So while there’s no Celtic action for a few weeks you can still come along to Celtic Park on Thursday 19 October – on the anniversary of Hampden in the Sun, Celtic 7 Rangers 1…to join The Celtic Star team live in the Kerrydale with special guests John Hartson and Stephen McManus as we launch Matt Corr’s new book ‘Majic, Stan and the King of Japan’ which tells the story of Gordon Strachan’s first season at Celtic and we’ll have the trophies Celtic won that season there too!
There’s live music from the wonderful Boolavogue and many more Celtic guests coming along which we’ll start to announce tomorrow. Tickets are selling fast so get yours now, just click on the image below and we’ll see you in the Kerrydale. it’s going to be some night and a great Celtic fix during the international break!
Join The Celtic Star at the Kerrydale on Thursday 19 October when we celebrate the launch of Matt Corr’s new book Majic, Stan and the King of Japan which tells the story of Gordon Strachan’s first season as Celtic manager. We’ll have the trophies that the Celtic team won that season plus well delighted welcome our special guests John Hartson and Stephen McManus, both stars of that Celtic team.
And we have other guests to be announced later this week plus there’s live music from the wonderful Boolavogue. Tickets are selling fast for what is sure to be a wonderful night of Celtic conversation and music and you can order below…
