St Mirren will face a full-strength Celtic side when the league leaders visit Paisley for Saturday night's Scottish Premiership clash. The visitors' starting lineup was confirmed on Friday by Celtic's official website, www.celticfc.com, showing manager Martin O'Neill sticking with the attacking trio that has delivered four consecutive wins.
Celtic arrive sitting top of the table with a perfect 12 points from their opening four matches. St Mirren, meanwhile, currently occupy second place with 10 points from their first four games, following a record of three wins, one draw and no losses. Their recent form reads WDWW, and they have scored seven goals while conceding three, giving them a +4 goal difference. The Buddies trail Celtic by two points in the early title race.
What team will Celtic field against St Mirren?
Martin O'Neill has made just one change to his midfield from the side that beat Aberdeen. Mika Baur comes into the starting eleven, replacing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who drops to the bench. The core of the team remains intact, with goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo protected by a back four of Josh Donovan, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, and Liam Scales.
Captain Callum McGregor will anchor the midfield alongside Baur and Simon Nygren. The attacking threat comes from the front three of Abde Hassan, Camilo Duran, and Yang Hyun-jun. Duran is in particularly strong form, having netted twice in Celtic's previous outing. The full squad list, including all substitutes, is available on our squad page.
How does St Mirren's injury situation look?
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson will have to plan without several key players for this top-of-the-table encounter. The club's current injury list, which you can view on our injuries page, includes midfielder Keanu Baccus, attacker Killian Phillips, and defender Liam Donnelly. Defender Malik Dijksteel is also sidelined.
These absences will test the depth of the Saints squad as they aim to halt Celtic's momentum. Robinson's selection choices will be important in matching Celtic's midfield energy and containing their potent attack.
What is the context of this Premiership fixture?
The match kicks off at 8pm on Saturday at the SMISA Stadium in Paisley. It represents a significant early-season test for St Mirren, who have started the campaign strongly themselves. A positive result would see them close the gap at the summit or potentially overtake Celtic, depending on other results.
Celtic's 100% record makes them formidable opponents, but St Mirren's home advantage and their own solid defensive record-just three goals conceded-sets the stage for a compelling contest. The full Premiership standings show how tight the early season has been.
What happens after this match for St Mirren?
Following this high-profile clash, St Mirren's next Premiership assignment is an away trip to face Dundee on December 26th. Dundee currently sit fifth in the table, making that another challenging fixture in the busy festive schedule. You can see the complete run of upcoming games on the club's fixtures page.
The match against Celtic also offers Jordan Lotomba a chance to feature against his new club's rivals shortly after his midweek move from Feyenoord. He is named among the Celtic substitutes for this encounter.
