Scottish Premiership champions Celtic welcome Hibernian to Parkhead for a second-round clash in the Scottish League Cup on Sunday afternoon.
The two teams butted heads in the top flight this time last week, with the Hoops coming out on top in Edinburgh by a 2-0 scoreline.
Match preview
© Reuters
After winning each of their final four pre-season friendlies earlier this summer, Celtic have since carried their strong form into the new season, beating both Kilmarnock and Hibs in their opening two Premiership fixtures by an aggregate score of 6-0.
The Hoops cruised to a four-goal victory at home against Killie at the beginning of the month, before goals from Nicolas Kuhn and captain Callum McGregor within the first 19 minutes helped Brendan Rodgers's side register their first away win of the campaign against Hibs last weekend.
Rodgers and co have now turned their attention to the Scottish League Cup, with the Celtic boss claiming that his team are in "a much better place now" compared to last season when they suffered a shock second-round exit to Kilmarnock.
Celtic have won a total of 21 League Cups in their history, including seven in the last 10 years, and they will be confident of success against Hibs in front of their own fans on Sunday, as they have won each of their last eight competitive games at Parkhead, scoring 29 goals in the process.
While the Hoops are in high spirits at present, the same cannot be said for Hibs, who have begun the new Premiership season with back-to-back defeats against St Mirren and Celtic, failing to score and conceding five goals.
The Cabbage had previously won three games out of four to finish top of Group C in the League Cup, beating Elgin City, Peterhead and Queen's Park by an aggregate score of 14-1 and finishing above the latter courtesy of their superior goal difference.
Head coach David Gray is hoping that his side can rediscover their League Cup form after a few weeks away from the competitions and has encouraged his players to be "miles braver on the ball" if they are to pose a threat against Celtic on Sunday - something that they did not achieve in last weekend's league clash as they failed to register any of their four shots on target.
Seeking to advance beyond the second round of the League Cup for the seventh time in eight seasons, Hibs travel to Parkhead as huge underdogs as they have only won one of their last 23 meetings with Celtic in all competitions - a 4-2 Premiership win in Edinburgh in May 2023.
Team News
© Imago
Celtic winger Mikey Johnston suffered a facial injury in the closing stages of last week's win at Easter Road and will not be available for selection on Sunday, but forward Daizen Maeda is in contention to play after recovering from a knee injury to come on as a substitute last time out.
Matt O'Riley continues to be linked with a big-money move away from Celtic, with Atalanta BC reportedly having a fifth bid for the midfielder rejected earlier this week, but he is expected to feature in some capacity at Parkhead.
The likes of Viljami Sinisalo, Anthony Ralston, Odin Thiago Holm and Paulo Bernardo will all be looking to force their way into the first XI after beginning as substitutes last weekend, while Adam Idah could feature after making his loan move from last season permanent earlier this week.
As for Hibernian, Gray has revealed that attacking duo Elie Youan and Junior Hoilett remain sidelined as they continue to recover from injury.
Celtic loanee Kwon Hyeok-Kyu is ineligible to face his parent club this weekend, but Nicky Cadden is ready to make his debut and could replace Rudi Molotnikov on the left flank.
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Sinisalo; Ralston, Carter-Vickers, Welsh, Taylor; O'Riley, McGregor, Holm; Kuhn, Furuhashi, Forrest
Hibernian possible starting lineup:
Bursik; Miller, Ekpiteta, O'Hora, Obita; Moriah-Welsh, Levitt, Newell; Boyle, Kukharevych, Cadden
We say: Celtic 2-0 Hibernian
Celtic cruised to a dominant win over Hibs last week and would have won by a greater margin had they not squandered a number of decent chances. The Hoops will be regarded as favourites once again on Sunday and even if Rodgers decides to makes few changes, his side should have few problems claiming a routine victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
