Celtic face St Mirren this afternoon in Paisley as the Scottish Champions return to league action after the League Cup win over Hibs. With two wins recorded in their opening two league fixtures, Brendan Rodgers’ side will face off against Stephen Robinson’s robust Saints at their SMiSA Stadium.

Watch out for the empty seats as Celtic have been given a minimum allocation of tickets for the tiny ground that is unlikely to be full, other than in the away stand behind the goal.

Celtic Team News

Kasper Schmeichel will start in goals. The Dane will likely play behind a back four of Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Liam Scales and Greg Taylor.

Celtic will be without Matt O’Riley, who travelled to England to complete a £30m move to Brighton, with the paperwork now being signed to conclude the transfer. The Dane leave with the best wishes of everyone involved with Celtic but the club will need to ensure that he’s sufficiently replaced.

In the meantime, Brendan needs to decide who goes into the midfield three to play alongside Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate. The likelihood is the manager will go for Paulo Bernardo, who completed his permanent switch from Benfica earlier this summer. In attack, expect Kyogo to return to the starting XI with Daizen Maeda on the left and Nicolas Kühn on the right.

Predicted Celtic Team

Predicted Celtic XI: Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; McGregor, Bernardo, Hatate; Maeda, Kyogo, Kühn. Subs: Sinisalo, Forrest, Palma, Idah, Yang, Holm, Ralston, Welsh, Turley.

Kick Off Time

The game kicks off at 12 Noon (Celtic Park Time).

Match Officials

Rookie ref Chris Graham has been named as the referee for the clash. He will be assisted by Calum Spence and Colin Drummond with fourth official duties completed by Gavin Duncan. Steven McLean has been named as the VAR official and he will be assisted by Alan Mulvanny over at Clydesdale House.

Where to Watch

The game will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football with coverage beginning at 11am. Celtic TV subscribers outside Britain and Ireland will be able to tune in and catch the action from 11:30am

St Mirren v Celtic highlights will be shown on BBC Scotland at 7:15 and then again at 11:35.

Score Prediction

A tough match, probably the hardest challenge of the season so far and without Matt O’Riley it’s just got even harder. However expect Celtic to rise to the occasion, the first goal is crucial and Kyogo can get his first of the season with Paulo Bernardo firing home a second to announce himself as the successor to Matt in Celtic’s midfield trio. No further scoring as Celtic take the three points with a hard-fought 2-0 away win at The SMiSA Stadium in Paisley.

Remember to count those empty seats! The capacity is 7937!

COYBIG!

PS the Ghirls are also on TV with their game kicking off at 1pm up at Aberdeen, so why not catch the second half on the BBC Scotland channel?

💻 @CelticTV Subscribers outside the UK & Ireland can watch #STMCEL Live!

Full info and how to subscribe ⤵️#CelticFC🍀

— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) August 25, 2024