Scottish Premiership Preview: St Johnstone vs Celtic – Stats & Prediction

Scottish Premiership Preview: St Johnstone vs Celtic – Stats & Prediction

Celtic's Scottish Premiership title defense resumes on Saturday as they head to McDiarmid Park to lock horns with out-of-form St Johnstone.

After helping his side win a record-extending 54th league title on his return to Parkhead last season, Brendan Rodgers' has picked up where he left off in 2024/25. For Celtics fans looking to capitlaise on their club’s dominance by perhaps starting their own podcast, you can unlock exclusive YouTuber deals when using a VPN to help you watch games from anywhere online.

It's been a superb top-flight start for the most successful Scottish club, as they've won all five opening league matches by an aggregate score of 14-0, netting over 1.5 goals on each occasion.

Rodgers returned to his homeland in 2023 after a four-year stint at Leicester City, but his imminent future appears closely linked with the Premier League again.

The 51-year-old has emerged as a possible candidate to replace Julen Lopetegui at West Ham United, though Chris Sutton isn't sure the Celtic boss would leave Glasgow anytime soon.

Speaking on BBC 606, Sutton identified Rodgers as a perfect man for the job but stated a switch to the London Stadium would be a 'downgrade' for the ex-Liverpool manager.

Moving to West Ham doesn't look prudent for the Hoops chief of staff, who oversaw an eye-catching 5-2 League Cup victory against Falkirk last weekend.

Celtic bounced back from a half-time deficit to dispatch the second-tier Bairns, largely thanks to Nicolas Kuhn's match-winning performance.

Kuhn netted two goals and chipped in with two assists to inspire the Hoops' comeback en route to being named the SPFL Team of the Week Star Man.

Another Season-Long Fight Against Relegation Looms for St Johnstone

St Johnstone avoided the drop by the skin of their teeth last term, beating 11th-placed Ross County to the final salvation spot on goal difference alone.

However, they seem destined for another stressful campaign following an unimpressive start to the new season despite a 3-0 thrashing of Kilmarnock on matchday one.

The wheels have since fallen off, with the Saints suffering three defeats in a row before conceding twice beyond the 85th minute in a goal-glutted 3-3 draw against Ross County last time out.

A 2-0 loss to Hibernian on their penultimate road trip was the end of the line for underachieving boss Craig Levein, as the club sacked him shortly after the game.

Yet to appoint a permanent replacement, the hosts could be staring down the barrel of a 15th consecutive home defeat to Celtic across all competitions.

Everything Points to Continuation of Celtic's Flawless 2024/25 Start

In addition to their remarkable league form and the abovementioned League Cup comeback, Celtic excelled in their curtain-raising Champions League fixture.

Rodgers' side put competition debutants Slovan Bratislava to the sword in Glasgow, steamrolling to a 5-1 triumph a week ago.

The Hoops have won all eight competitive matches this season and did so convincingly.

All eight victories came despite a -1 handicap, while six saw them score over 2.5 goals, highlighting the potential for an emphatic scoreline at McDiarmid Park.

Interestingly, three of Celtic's last four league wins on this ground have come by 3+ goals 'to one,' which only substantiates lofty expectations ahead of the kick-off.

Kuhn and his teammates will likely have to lace up their scoring boots again, considering the Hoops haven't kept a clean sheet in an away game against St Johnstone since October 2020.

Prediction

Delivering action from the get-go, Celtic have opened the scoring inside 15 minutes on both Scottish Premiership travels this season, suggesting a quick-fire start could be on the cards.

Ominously for St Johnstone, they have conceded once in their two home league outings in that same timeframe.

On that basis, it's possible to expect the Hoops to find an early deadlock-breaker and dismantle their hosts in another action-packed thriller.