St Johnstone v Celtic

Bottom meets top in the Scottish Premiership at McDiarmid Park on Sunday, with St Johnstone playing host to Celtic.

Brendan Rodgers’ side are moving steadily towards yet another title while they are closing in on the 100-goal mark for the season. They will expect to take strides towards both targets in Perth.

 St Johnstone, meanwhile, are in danger of losing touch with their rivals prior to the split next weekend. They go into the weekend 5 points behind 11th-placed Dundee and can scarcely afford to lose more ground.

⭐ St Johnstone v Celtic Best Bets

Back Over 7.5 Celtic Corners @ 1.73 with bet365

Celtic have enjoyed a one-sided dominance over St Johnstone this season, winning the previous matches 6-0 at McDiarmid Park and 4-0 at Parkhead. This control has been underlined by their corner count. In the two previous matches, Celtic have combined for an astonishing 25 corners.

These figures are exceptional, even by Celtic’s standards. Brendan Rodgers’ side have been masters of manufacturing such situations this season in the Premiership. The Hoops average 8.71 corners across their 31 games, hitting 7.6 on their travels. No club gives up more corners at home in the Premiership than St Johnstone. Simo Valakari’s side concede 7.13 on average.

Back Celtic (-1 Handicap) @ 1.53 with bet365

Celtic might not have been at their best in recent weeks, but they will expect to pick up a healthy victory in this game based on the previous meetings between the clubs. In total, the Hoops are 10-0 up on aggregate following the previous games, with Saints unable to get a sniff.

The Hoops, meanwhile, remain in excellent offensive form, having scored 15 goals across their last 4 league outings. St Johnstone, who have the second-poorest defence in the league (57 conceded in 31), are unlikely to be able to resist.

👕 St Johnstone v Celtic Predicted XI

🔍 St Johnstone v Celtic Players to Watch

⚪ Daizen Maida

Daizen Maeda has 15 goals this season, but is certainly not guaranteed to finish the season as the Premiership’s leading scorer, with several players within touching distance of the Japan star.

Maeda is, however, the man in form. He has scored in each of his last eight Premiership starts, grabbing 11 goals in this period as he has stormed to the top of the scoring charts. He has been playing 90 minutes on an almost weekly basis, but by taking this bet with bet365, we are covered with 'Sub On Play On' too.

Back Daizen Maeda to Score Anytime @ 1.91 with bet365 ↔️

⚪ Callum McGregor

Celtic captain Callum McGregor is not necessarily a player noted for his offensive contribution to the team, yet the central midfielder has been active in this capacity in his recent league outings.

As well as scoring goals against Dundee United and Aberdeen, he generated an assist last weekend against Hearts. He has shots in fove of his last six games while he has a shot on target in three of his last five in the Premiership – a significant total given he has only 12 shots on target in 38 outings all season. Taking him in the shot markets could be an angle worth considering.

📂 St Johnstone v Celtic Cheat Sheet

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💻 St Johnstone v Celtic Form and Tactics

St Johnstone came into this season with the reputation of being a rather dour side, but since Simo Valakari’s appointment in October, the Perth club have made an attempt to play a more entertaining brand of football. The Perth Saints are now a side that enjoys a strong share of possession. Boasting 52.8% of the ball on average this season, they lie 5th in this regard in the Premiership, ahead of 3rd-placed Hibs for example.

Translating the possession into goals and points has proven more challenging. They post only 9.7 shots per game, which is the joint-lowest figure in the league along with Motherwell, while their goals against tally of 57 is the poorest in the division with the exception of Dundee.

In terms of what quality offensive play they do produce, much of it comes through Benjamin Kimpioka, who with six goals and two assists is a key figure. Young forward Makenzie Kirk has proven a smart addition and is their leading marksman with seven Premiership goals, but beyond this pair, the threat from open play is limited.

Saints have shown some signs of improvement of late, but their first three match undefeated league run of the season was ended emphatically by Hibs in a 3-0 loss last weekend.

Celtic’s dominance of the Premiership needs little introduction with Brendan Rodgers’ side cruising to another title as they lead Rangers by 13 points. The Hoops’ recent form, though, has not been sparkling, they have lost two of their last five in the league, although these were against Hibs (3rd) and Rangers (2nd). Indeed, motivation may become an issue – but only once the title is wrapped up. There is no prospect of an invincible season or even a 100-point campaign.

Celtic’s dominance is underlined by the fact that they have scored 92 goals in 31 games while their positive goal difference of +72 is greater than any other team has even scored. Unsurprisingly, they lead the league in terms of shots on target with 7.23 per 90, although their total of 18.74 shots per 90 lags Rangers.

They have picked up fewer than half the cards of any other team, just 28 in 31 games, and have not seen a red all season. On top of that, Celtic boast an average of 8.71 corners per game on average, well clear of their closest rivals in this regard, who are Rangers on 6.9.

🏁 St Johnstone v Celtic Ref Watch

• Referee - David Dickinson

• Dickinson has handed out 126 cards in 30 matches this season at a rate of 4.2 per game.

• He has awarded 7 penalties this season – 0.23 per game.

• Has awarded 20.78 fouls per match in Scotland’s top-flight.

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* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.

* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.