Celtic will be looking to extend their lead at the summit of the Scottish Premiership when they welcome St Johnstone to Parkhead on Saturday.
With 17 games in the books, Celtic sit nine points clear of second-place Rangers and 23 points ahead of third-place Aberdeen.
🚨 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲The Bhoys returned to Paradise after the winter break with a well deserved three points and this is how they sealed the win! 🙌#CELLIV | @CelticFC | #COYBIG🍀 pic.twitter.com/nog5XwbLsz— Celtic TV (@CelticTV) December 22, 2022
🚨 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲The Bhoys returned to Paradise after the winter break with a well deserved three points and this is how they sealed the win! 🙌#CELLIV | @CelticFC | #COYBIG🍀 pic.twitter.com/nog5XwbLsz
Meanwhile, St Johnstone find themselves fifth – 24 points shy of Celtic. Can the Saints cause an upset on Christmas Eve? Or will the Hoops flex their muscles?
Remarkably, Celtic have won 16 of their 17 league games this season – recording a solitary defeat in the process.
In addition to having the league’s best offensive record (53), the Bhoys boast the best defensive record (14). That means they average 3.1 goals per game this term.
On Wednesday, Celtic claimed a 2-1 victory over Livingston – extending their winning streak in the Scottish Premiership to ten games.
When you look at the bigger picture, Celtic have lost just one of their last 49 league games and have avoided defeat in each of their previous 27 home league games.
On the flip side, St Johnstone have only managed to win seven of their 17 Premiership outings this season – recording three draws and seven losses.
The Saints have upped their game in recent times, however, meaning they head into Saturday’s clash on a six-game unbeaten streak in the league.
That said, they have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their previous 14 away outings in the Scottish Premiership.
Given that Celtic are the league’s top scorers by a considerable margin, St Johnstone will almost certainly concede at least once on Saturday.
Head-to-head: Celtic have won each of their last seven meetings with St Johnstone, with the Hoops claiming a 7-0 victory back in April.
St Johnstone’s last win against Celtic came back in May 2016, meaning the Bhoys are enjoying a 24-game unbeaten run in this fixture.
Team news: Celtic are expected to be without the injured duo of Stephen Welsh and James McCarthy this weekend.
As for St Johnstone, they currently have three players sidelined due to injury – Murray Davidson, Callum Booth and Chris Kane.
Given that St Johnstone have failed to beat Celtic in 24 attempts since May 2016, the league leaders shouldn’t struggle to claim all three points on Saturday.
Forebet predicts that Celtic will score over 1.5 goals on their way to victory over St Johnstone.