Match Preview and Team News
Kilmarnock is set to host Celtic in a Scottish Premiership match at Rugby Park on Sunday, August 9. The kick-off is scheduled for 1.30pm, with coverage available on Sky Sports Football. This fixture marks the 250th league meeting between the two clubs.
Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann will look to guide his team, who will be playing on a new grass pitch. The team’s pre-season optimism was reportedly affected by a defensive performance against St Johnstone in their first league game of the season. Kilmarnock lost their opening league match and if they do not win this game, it will be the 13th time in their last 16 top-flight seasons that they have not won either of their first two games. McCann has not beaten Celtic in the Scottish Premiership in four attempts, with one draw and three losses.
For Kilmarnock, Robbie Deas is suspended, which could lead to a debut for new signing Johnly Yfeko. Tyreece John-Jules, who took a knock last week, is expected to be available. The predicted line-up for Kilmarnock is a 4-4-1-1 formation, featuring Stryjek; Ring, Stanger, Yfeko, Meier; Kiltie, Tshibola, Lowery, Clescenco; John-Jules; and Hugill.
Celtic, managed by Gavin David Strachan, will be without centre-back Liam Scales, who is serving the final game of his ban. Jota is back in training. The predicted line-up for Celtic is a 4-2-3-1 formation, including Sinisalo; Johnston, Trusty, Carter-Vickers, Tierney; McGregor, Engels; Duran, Nygren, Yang; and Hogh.
Recent Form and Historical Context
Kilmarnock has lost their last eight meetings with Celtic across all competitions. Their last longer losing streak against Celtic was from April 2003 to April 2007. Celtic has won these eight games with an aggregate score of 27-5. Celtic has also won each of their last eight Scottish Premiership games since a 2-0 defeat at Dundee United in March. They last had a longer winning streak in the league between April and October.
Kilmarnock ended last season with six wins in nine matches, including a victory against Hearts. They also achieved four clean sheets in four League Cup games. However, their recent match against St Johnstone saw them concede four goals, despite scoring three. Kilmarnock striker Joe Hugill has scored nine goals in 12 starts since the middle of March. Greg Kiltie had two shots against St Johnstone, scoring one, and has two goals this season.
Celtic is aiming to win their opening two Scottish Premiership matches for the fifth consecutive season, having last failed to do so in 2021-22. Benjamin Nygren of Celtic has scored a notable number of goals in the Scottish Premiership since the beginning of last season. Kieran Tierney has also contributed with assists in the league during the same period. Last season’s two trips to Kilmarnock resulted in narrow Celtic wins, with scores of 2-1 and 3-2, both featuring injury-time winners for Celtic.
Key Statistics and Officials
Match statistics show Celtic with higher overall possession and more shots. Celtic had 22 shots compared to Kilmarnock’s 7, with 11 shots on target for Celtic and 4 for Kilmarnock. Celtic also had more total touches inside the opposition box with 30, while Kilmarnock had 17. In terms of distribution, Celtic completed 398 total passes with a pass accuracy of 89.9%, compared to Kilmarnock’s 242 passes and 83.9% accuracy.
The match officials for the game include Ryan Lee as the referee and Andrew Dallas as the Video Assistant Referee. Frank Connor and Daniel McFarlane will serve as assistant referees, with Greg Soutar as the fourth official and David Dickinson as the assistant VAR official.
In their last ten home matches, Kilmarnock has lost only one, which was a 3-2 defeat against Celtic. The three games between these sides last term produced 13, 15, and 13 corners respectively.
Source: bbc.co.uk