BRENDAN RODGERS is determined to make certain Celtic go out with a bang as they bring down the curtain on a hugely successful 2024 against St Johnstone at Parkhead this afternoon.
The Hoops boss has taken the opportunity to rest skipper Callum McGregor and he takes his place among the stand-by squad alongside Greg Taylor and Daizen Maeda from the team that started the 4-0 win over Motherwell on Boxing Day.
Paulo Bernardo, Arne Engels and Reo Hatate will comprise the midfield trio while on-loan Barcelona defender Alex Valle come in at No.3.
Yang Hyun-jun replaces Maeda on the left flank while Kyogo Furuhashi takes over from Adam Idah to lead the attack.
TEAM: Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Valle; Bernardo, Engels, Hatate; Kuhn, Kyogo, Yang. Subs: Sinisalo, Taylor, Trusty, Palma, Idah, McCowan, Maeda, McGregor and Ralston.
Earlier today, we asked how much you could remember about past encounters against the Perth club in CQN’s fun five-minute quiz to test your knowledge.
Now we repeat those questions and provide the answers.
FOR MY NEXT TRICK…Nicolas Kuhn displays his ball-juggling skills. (See Question 2.)
QUESTIONS:
1: True or false: St Johnstone were one of only two Scottish teams Celtic failed to score against in the league at Parkhead last season?
2: Celtic triumphed 3-1 when the clubs met in Glasgow in March. Who scored only his second goal for the Hoops that day?
3: Kyogo Furuhashi claimed a double when Celtic won 6-0 at McDiarmid Park earlier in the current campaign. Can you name the four other scorers?
4: Who was in charge of Saints in that encounter?
5: Which current Celtic first-team squad player had a loan spell at St Johnstone in season 2019/20?
ANSWERS:
1: True. The Saints forced a goalless draw at Parkhead in August last year before Hearts won 2-0 in December.
2: Nicolas Kuhn.
3: Paulo Bernardo, Callum McGregor, Daizen Maeda and Adam Idah.
4: Andy Kirk in a caretaker capacity after replacing sacked Craig Levein.
5: Anthony Ralston.
Well done if you got five out out of five. Go to the top of the class!
* DON’T miss the unbeatable match report from Celtic v St Johnstone this afternoon – only in your champion CQN.
