St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright senses Celtic might be close to firing on all cylinders.
Celtic came under scrutiny after failure to qualify for the Champions League and their worst start to a league season for 20 years after six matches.
But they subsequently knocked St Johnstone out of the Betfred Cup thanks to Leigh Griffiths’ late goal and then beat Aberdeen in the Ladbrokes Premiership ahead of their return trip to Perth on Sunday.
Brendan Rodgers’ men have kept seven clean sheets in eight matches and Wright will not read too much into reports about Celtic’s form as he bids to add to the two points his side took against the champions last season.
“Everybody was saying there was a crisis,” Wright said.
“They are in the semi-final of a cup. They beat Aberdeen, the team that finished second last year, on Saturday. They have started the Europa League campaign with a win.
“So they are maybe not that far off going on all cylinders, particularly the performance they gave in the second half against us, when they came out and put us under real pressure.
“So we are fully aware of the quality. We know how to get a result against them, the hardest thing is going out and doing it.”
Tony Watt is set to play through a foot knock against his former team but Murray Davidson is unlikely to return from an ankle injury on Sunday.
“He’s got a chance but I will probably err on the side of caution,” Wright said.
“It’s probably a week too early, but he’s got an outside chance. The good news is if he doesn’t make Sunday he will definitely make Motherwell.
“Tony Watt is still struggling a bit but that’s something he can play through because it has improved this week from what it was last week. So he’ll be in the squad.”
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