Celtic will look to bounce back quickly from their disappointing Champions League exit with a comprehensive win against St Johnstone in the Scottish Premier League.
As Brendan Rodgers continues to press home the urgency of adding quality to the Celtic squad, he will need to press on with what he has at his disposal.
With the team underperforming in Rome, I believe the Celtic manager will make three changes to the Celtic squad as he looks to claim all three points in Perth.
Tomiki Iwata starts for Celtic as Paulo Bernardo drops out
The Japanese midfielder has been used very little by Rodgers. As the Celtic manager tinkers with the midfield to find a suitable Reo Hatate replacement, Iwata has been the one who has waited patiently for his chance.
When he finally got it against Hearts in the 4-1 win at Tynecastle earlier in the season, Iwata didn’t disappoint. The 26-year-old didn’t disappoint.
He was a solid second-half substitute for Celtic and also got on the scoresheet. Two cameos against Ross County and Aberdeen have had Iwata sniffing around the Celtic first team.
With Rodgers seemingly exasperated about the David Turnbull contract situation and Paolo Bernardo failing to impress in Rome, Iwata would be my man to start and get the chance to impress Rodgers today.
Luis Palma returns as James Forrest drops to the Celtic bench
The Honduran international was a big miss against Lazio on Tuesday night and today he will return to the Celtic starting eleven.
His goals and assists have been pivotal this season for Rodgers and the Celtic manager could certainly do with a couple of pieces of magic from the ‘outstanding‘ Palma today.
James Forrest will drop out despite being one of Celtic’s only attacking threats against Lazio and Hyunjun Yang will remain on the right flank.
The South Korean has been inconsistent this season and was posted missing in Rome but he will get his chance again today against St Johnstone.
Predicted Celtic XI vs St Johnstone
GK: Joe Hart
DEF: Greg Taylor, Liam Scales, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Alistair Johnston
MID: Tomoki Iwata, Callum McGregor, Matt O’Riley
FW: Luis Palma, Kyogo Furuhashi, Hyunjun Yang
Predicted Score: St Johnstone 0 v 3 Celtic
Where to watch St Johnstone vs Celtic
The Scottish Premiership match kicks off at 12pm at McDiarmid Park. The SPFL strugglers took a point in a 0-0 draw at Celtic Park earlier in the season.
The game can be watched on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football with coverage starting at 11am.
Celtic supporters can also listen to live commentary of the game on BBC Scotland and on Celtic TV in the UK.
Highlights will be shown on BBC Sportscence at 7:15pm.
In other news, Celtic may not need to worry about being without £4.6m player in January