Celtic are nine points in front of Rangers ahead of a midweek set of fixtures in the Scottish Premiership. The Hoops will host sixth-place Livingston on Wednesday night, 24 hours after Rangers make a trip to Aberdeen.
Ange Postecoglou's team has won 15 of 16 league matches this season. No team in the Premiership has scored more goals than Celtic’s 51. In addition, no team has allowed fewer goals than Celtic’s 13.
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Livingston will attempt to stop Celtic’s great winning form by winning at Celtic Park for the first time in the 21st century. The Lions go to Glasgow with a record of 1W-4D-5L in the last 10 games versus Celtic in all competitions.
Manager David Martindale will attempt to do the impossible and that is lead Livingston to a win at Celtic Park. Livingston are in good form with 11 points coming from their last six games. The team scored eight goals and conceded eight times across those six games.
Celtic, on the other hand, were a perfect 18 points from the last six games in the Premiership. Sixteen goals were scored and just seven conceded by Celtic in the last six matches. The Hoops are a perfect seven wins from seven games at home.
Livingston have stuttered on the road with two wins, two draws, and three losses. They have a –5-goal difference on the road in the Premiership.
Postecoglou may be forced to shuffle the team for the match. Cameron Carter-Vickers played for the United States at the World Cup and may not be fully ready to start. Meanwhile, Josip Juranovic of Croatia is unlikely to be ready to play after helping the Blazers finish third in Qatar.
Defender Stephen Welsh is a double due to a knock. James McCarthy could sit out the game with a serious hamstring injury. He is more likely to be available for Celtic’s post-Christmas game versus Hibs.
Forward Kyogo Furuhashi is in good form, with 10 goals in 14 league games. Furuhashi scored in the ninth minute of Celtic’s 3-0 win at Livingston in October.
Martindale has just one injury going into the game, as Jamie Brandon is likely to miss the fixture. Livingston’s defence is likely to come under pressure early and often, as Celtic average 19.6 shots per game.
The Hoops claimed a 3-0 win earlier this season against Livingston. Celtic should post another win versus the Lions with another three goals being scored, as the game finishes 3-1 at Celtic Park.