Preview:Celtic vs Kilmarnock - prediction, team news, lineups

Celtic will aim to bounce back from their Europa League loss when they welcome Kilmarnock to Celtic Park on Sunday in the Scottish Premiership.

The hosts are second in the standings with 20 points from their 10 league fixtures, while the visitors are 10th in the table with 10 points from 11 games.

Match preview

Celtic came into the 2025-26 season striving to secure the Scottish Premiership title for the fifth consecutive season, but the Bhoys have experienced a rarely tumultuous start to the campaign.

An underwhelming summer transfer window has led to several fan protests regarding the management of the club, while it also left Brendan Rodgers vocally frustrated at the situation heading into the campaign.

Frustrations only grew as their initial performances failed to impress, relying on a late goal to see them take three points from their opening Scottish Premiership fixture against St Mirren, followed by back-to-back goalless draws with Kairat Almaty in the Champions League playoff qualifying round, which they went on to lose on penalties.

That Champions League exit was the first in several disappointing and unacceptable results for Celtic, including failing to win either of their first two Europa League fixtures - drawing with Red Star Belgrade and losing at home to Braga - as well as losing back-to-back league games against Dundee and Hearts.

The Scottish Premiership defeat to Hearts left Celtic eight points behind the Jambos at the top of the table, and Rodgers soon handed in his resignation, with the club opting to appoint Martin O'Neill and Shaun Maloney on an interim basis as co-managers.

The duo immediately improved results as Celtic comprehensively defeated Falkirk 4-0, followed by booking their place in the Scottish League Cup final with a 3-1 win against Old Firm rivals Rangers in the semi-finals, but their winning start was halted by a 3-1 loss to Midtjylland in the Europa League.

That defeat means the Bhoys are placed 27th in the league phase standings, leaving them in a precarious position outside of the qualifying places with four challenging matches ahead against Feyenoord, Roma, Bologna and Utrecht.

However, focus will first turn back to the Scottish Premiership, with Celtic set to welcome Kilmarnock to Celtic Park, and only a victory will suffice in the fight to close the gap on Hearts at the top of the standings.

The Bhoys now trail the Jambos by nine points in the race for the Scottish Premiership title, although Celtic do have a game in hand on Hearts, and they will be desperate to avoid slipping any further behind by picking up all three points on Sunday.

While their confidence may have taken a hit following the loss to Midtjylland, O'Neill and Maloney will point to their improved domestic form under the co-managers, and Celtic can also draw belief from their formidable recent record in this fixture.

Kilmarnock have failed to win any of their last seven meetings with the Bhoys across all competitions, last securing three points against Celtic with a 2-1 win in December 2023, having lost six and drawn one of the subsequent seven encounters.

Killie are also enduring a miserable run of results heading into this matchday 12 clash, as Stuart Kettlewell's side have suffered defeat in all of their last four outings.

That marks a significant downturn in form compared to the encouraging start to the campaign that the new manager experienced, as Killie had remained undefeated in their first nine games across all competitions.

Kilmarnock progressed from Group H of the Scottish League Cup after three wins and one draw, followed by beating Dundee United in the second round, while they also drew all of their first four league fixtures.

Kettlewell eventually tasted defeat for the first time as Kilmarnock manager as Sunday's opponents handed his side a devastating 2-1 defeat, with Kelechi Iheanacho scoring a controversial 96th-minute penalty to claim all three points.

Killie went on to suffer elimination from the Scottish League Cup at the hands of St Mirren in the quarter-finals, and while they initially bounced back in the league with back-to-back wins, they have since suffered four straight defeats.

While results at the beginning of the campaign were encouraging, their performances have often failed to impress, and with the results no longer going in their favour, fans are beginning to question the manager.

Killie must quickly improve if Kettlewell is to keep his place at the helm, and that may be a difficult task given they face Celtic, Hearts and Rangers in their next five fixtures.

Celtic Scottish Premiership form:

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Celtic form (all competitions):

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Kilmarnock Scottish Premiership form:

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Kilmarnock form (all competitions):

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Team News

Celtic will remain without both Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers until the turn of the year, while Alistair Johnston and Iheanacho have both failed to appear since the victory against Sturm Graz, and the pair are unlikely to return for Sunday's encounter.

Callum Osmand and Arne Engels are both also doubts for Sunday's clash after the pair were forced off with injury in the midweek defeat to Midjtylland, meaning Paulo Bernardo could partner Callum McGregor at the base of midfield, while Johnny Kenny could continue at striker.

Changes could be made elsewhere following the defeat, meaning the likes of Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Marcelo Saracchi could earn a starting spot.

Meanwhile, Kilmarnock are dealing with ongoing injury problems to Marley Watkins and Matthew Kennedy, while Djenairo Daniels has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a knee problem.

Kettlwell made three substitutions at half-time with his side 3-0 down to Scottish Premiership newcomers Falkirk last weekend, and following a significantly improved half, the manager could make those three changes from the start this time around.

Tyreece John-Jules was one of those changes, and after the striker scored their consolation goal and his first for the club, the new signing is in line to make his first start for Kilmarnock.

Celtic possible starting lineup:

Schmeichel; Ralston, Trusty, Scales, Saracchi; Bernardo, McGregor, Hatate; Maeda, Kenny, Tounekti

Kilmarnock possible starting lineup:

Oluwayemi; Brown, Stanger, Deas, Thompson; Watson, Lyons, Lowery, Tiffoney; John-Jules, Anderson

We say: Celtic 2-0 Kilmarnock

Despite Celtic suffering their first defeat under their new co-managers, the Bhoys have been significantly improved in domestic competition, and given Kilmarnock's poor record in recent weeks and in this fixture, we are expecting a comfortable home triumph.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.