Celtic will aim to continue their perfect start to the Scottish Premiership season on Sunday, when they travel to Paisley to take on St Mirren.
The visitors have won the first two games of their top-flight title defence and progressed through the Scottish League Cup second round last time out, while their hosts departed the competition last weekend after earning three points from their first two league outings.
Match preview
![Stephen Robinson of St Mirren during the UEFA Europa Conference League Second Qualifying Round Second Leg match at the SMISA Stadium, Paisley, on August 1, 2024 [on August 2, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/31/stephen-robinson.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Stephen Robinson of St Mirren during the UEFA Europa Conference League Second Qualifying Round Second Leg match at the SMISA Stadium, Paisley, on August 1, 2024 [on August 2, 2024]")
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St Mirren return to action on Sunday aiming to get back to winning ways on the back of three straight defeats in all competitions after making a pleasing start to the campaign.
Indeed, the Saints began the 2024-25 term by progressing past Valur Reykjavik in Europa Conference League qualifying and thrashed Hibernian 3-0 in their Scottish Premiership curtain-raiser thanks to Roland Idowu's opener and Oisin Smyth's brace, but after playing out a 1-1 draw in the home leg of their continental third-qualifying-round tie against SK Brann, they have hit a tougher spell in recent weeks.
Stephen Robinson's side visited Aberdeen in their second league outing and succumbed to a 3-1 defeat at Pittodrie, having initially drawn level in the first half through Toyosi Olusanya, before visiting Brann for the second leg and dropping out of qualifying owing to a 3-1 defeat on the night in Norway, with their hosts only retaking a lead five minutes from time.
Aiming to put that disappointment behind them, the Paisley outfit most recently visited Dundee United for a Scottish League Cup second-round tie on Sunday and saw their losing run extended, dropping out of the competition following a 1-0 defeat at Tannadice Park as Ross Graham netted the only goal in the first half.
With their focus now fully on their Scottish Premiership pursuits following those cup exits, St Mirren will now bid to add to their tally of three points at the weekend with a positive result on home turf.
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That will certainly be no easy task, though, as the defending champions arrive aiming to make it three victories from three outings in the league and four consecutive wins across all competitions this term.
In their second season under the tutelage of returning boss Brendan Rodgers, Celtic set out to win a fourth consecutive Scottish Premiership title, a 13th in a 14-year spell and the 55th in their history, having most recently topped the table on 93 points last time around, eight clear of rivals Rangers.
The Glasgow giants have kicked off in characteristically emphatic fashion, too, winning their first two top-flight outings without conceding a goal, having firstly thrashed Kilmarnock 4-0 in their curtain-raiser with Reo Hatate, Liam Scales, Nicolas Kuhn and Anthony Ralston all on the scoresheet before Kuhn and Callum McGregor fired them to a 2-0 triumph away at Hibernian.
Another meeting with Hibernian followed in the Scottish League Cup on Sunday, and the Bhoys progressed with another victory over the Edinburgh outfit, eventually winning 3-1 as Daizen Maeda fired them into an early 2-0 lead and Kuhn stretched their advantage back to two before the hour mark.
Having quickly kicked into gear once again this season, Celtic will now bid to extend a perfect start to their title defence with another dominant victory on Sunday.
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Team News
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St Mirren continue to contend with several injury issues heading into the weekend, as midfielders Caolan Boyd-Munce and Dennis Adeniran missed last weekend's meeting with Dundee United, joining Greg Kiltie, Connor McMenamin and Mark O'Hara in the treatment room.
If their absences continue, Fraser Taylor should again get the nod to join Roland Idowu and Oisin Smyth in the engine room, while Alex Iacovitti, Alex Gogic and Marcus Fraser will likely line up in an unchanged back three.
Toyosi Olusanya should keep his place in attack, having managed three goals so far this season, while Jonah Ayunga and Mikael Mandron, who top scored for the Saints with 11 last time around, will compete to join him if Stephen Robinson sticks with the 3-5-2 setup.
Celtic should travel to Paisley with a clean bill of health on Sunday, and Brendan Rodgers may opt to field an unchanged starting XI from last weekend's 3-1 Scottish League Cup victory over Hibernian, with Daizen Maeda again set to lead the line, having netted a brace in Kyogo Furuhashi's absence in that game.
Despite competition from Adam Idah and Luis Palma, he should be joined in a front three by James Forrest and Nicolas Kuhn, who has scored in each of their three matches so far this season, matching his tally from last season already.
Matt O'Riley, who netted a team-high tally of 18 goals last time around, should continue to play a starring role in the midfield, despite reported interest in the Denmark international, with Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate also likely to keep their places.
St Mirren possible starting lineup:
Balcombe; Fraser, Gogic, Iacovitti; Rooney, Smyth, Taylor, Idowu, Tanser; Mandron, Olusanya
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; O'Riley, Hatate, McGregor; Kuhn, Maeda, Forrest
We say: St Mirren 0-2 Celtic
With the hosts in the midst of a tough patch and Brendan Rodgers's side having immediately found their groove in this year's title defence, we can only envisage Celtic making it three wins from three Scottish Premiership outings on Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
