Preview: St Johnstone vs. Celtic - prediction, team news, lineups

Celtic, aiming to retain their Scottish Cup trophy for the third successive season, will clash with St Johnstone in their semi-final clash on Sunday afternoon.

The Saints will be hoping for cup success as they stare down the barrel of relegation in the Scottish Premiership, while the Bhoys could complete a domestic treble in the coming weeks.

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Match preview

St Johnstone have endured an extremely difficult 2024-25 campaign, with the Saints placing bottom of the Scottish Premiership table at the end of the regular season.

The Saints took just 29 points from 33 league fixtures - after eight wins, five draws and 20 defeats - leaving them five points behind 11th-placed Dundee and six behind 10th-placed Ross County.

Simo Valakari, appointed in October following Craig Levein's dismissal, now faces a critical five-match relegation round to fight for survival, though his immediate attention will shift to the Scottish FA Cup.

The cup has been a rare source of joy for the Saints this season, with 1-0 victories over Motherwell in round four, Hamilton Academical in round five and Livingston in the quarter-finals.

St Johnstone now face undoubtedly their toughest task, as they clash with Scottish Premiership league leaders Celtic at Hampden Park for their semi-final tie.

Under Brendan Rodgers, the Bhoys have enjoyed another superb campaign, in position to secure the Scottish Premiership title, with the Scottish League Cup already secured and the Scottish Cup still within their grasp.

Celtic hold a commanding 15-point lead with only 15 points left to play for in the league, meaning the title is almost certainly theirs, and they will be hoping to retain their Scottish Cup trophy for a third successive year to complete the domestic treble.

The Bhoys may be slightly concerned heading into this clash with St Johnstone after they stumbled at the end of the regular league campaign, suffering two defeats in their final four games, including a 1-0 loss to Sunday's opponents.

However, that defeat is their only loss to St Johnstone since last losing in May 2016, with the Bhoys winning 28 and drawing four of their last 32 encounters across all competitions.

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Team News

St Johnstone will be unable to call upon the services of Bozo Mikulic, Drey Wright, Uche Ikpeazu and Sam McClelland due to ongoing injury issues, while Zach Mitchell may also be absent having been forced off in their last match.

Given the Saints defeated Celtic 1-0 just two weeks ago, Valakari could look to name a similar starting 11 in this match, with the changes of Taylor Steven and Barry Douglas coming into the backline.

Celtic are set to remain without first-choice goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, due to a shoulder injury, meaning back-up Viljami Sinisalo will keep his place between the sticks.

Hyun-Jun Yang is also unavailable for selection with an elbow issue, meaning a front three of Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn, Jota and Daizen Maeda should start on Sunday.

As for the midfield and defence, Rodgers is unlikely to make changes following their brilliant 5-1 victory over Kilmarnock, though Jeffrey Schlupp could play instead of Greg Taylor.

St Johnstone possible starting lineup: Fisher; Balodis, Douglas, Steven; Curtis, Holt, Griffith, Duke-McKenna; Carey, Kirk; Sidibeh

Celtic possible starting lineup: Sinisalo; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Schlupp; Engels, McGregor, Hatate; Kuhn, Maeda, Jota

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We say: St Johnstone 0-3 Celtic

St Johnstone will be hopeful of recreating their recent victory over the Bhoys, but Celtic will be determined to get their revenge, and we expect Rodgers's side to comfortably progress to the final.

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

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