ST JOHNSTONE-CELTIC PREVIEW: THE FORGOTTEN GAME

It seems that in the fall-out of the events involving both Celtic’s defeat to Juventus and the Green Brigade at the weekend, tonight’s visit to Perth has been forgotten about – it isn’t even live on TV, and the fact that there is a pay at the gate tonight for Celtic fans shows that it isn’t at the forefront of people’s minds, but that won’t matter to Neil Lennon, who will want a victory against a team Celtic have failed to defeat in the league this season.

Scott Brown will miss this game – and possibly the rest of the season – with an abductor problem, which he is going to see a specialist about, this would be a big blow as the team plays far better with Brown in it. Lustig and Samaras are both still missing, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see roughly the same team which start which defeated Dundee United so convincingly at the weekend, though perhaps James Forrest might start.

Tonight should see the continuation of the Stokes-Hooper partnership, and there has been talk recently that Stokes will earn a new contract – which rounds out at the end of the season. That would be a good move as although the player has his limitations both on and off the pitch, there is no disputing that he can score goals, especially in the SPL, which was a problem that Celtic have had at various times during the season.

As for our opponents, Steve Lomas has done a very good job this season, a season which was kickstarted when they defeated Celtic 2-1 earlier this season. Rowan Vine and Murray Davidson are their danger men, although Davidson may be missing through injury.  Tonight could be a tough game for Celtic, especially we take our eye off the ball, but the players we’ve got in attack should do enough to get the job done.