Celtic boss Neil Lennon is under immense pressure heading into this Scottish Premiership game at Kilmarnock, after his team lost at home to St Mirren at the weekend.
Alex Dyer departed from his role as manager after the Ayrshire side's weekend defeat to St Johnstone, which left Killie ninth in the table.
Match preview
© Reuters
Kilmarnock let a two-goal lead slip in their 3-2 weekend home defeat to St Johnstone and it proved to be the final straw as far as Alex Dyer's reign as manager was concerned.
The Englishman left the club by mutual consent almost immediately after the loss - the club's third in a row - and it is as yet unclear who will take charge of the team against Celtic.
Killie are now ninth in the league table, just five points ahead of bottom-placed Hamilton Academical, and confidence appears low among the players at Rugby Park.
It would not usually be a good time to face Celtic, but the Bhoys have considerable woes of their own, and Neil Lennon's own position is under some threat.
© Reuters
The Celts lost 2-1 at home to St Mirren on Saturday, the first time they had lost to the Buddies at Parkhead since 1990, and Lennon described his players' performance as "dreadful".
The Northern Irishman even described the defeat as the lowest point of his managerial career at the Hoops, and he has some work to do to re-inject his players with confidence ahead of the trip to Rugby Park.
Whether he can do that after comments implying that a massive rebuild of the squad is in the offing remains to be seen, but he is fortunate to be facing another club in turmoil on Tuesday evening.
One player who will need to do some work in the lead-up to the game is Irish defender Shane Duffy, who was clearly at fault for the Buddies' winning goal on Saturday.
The Celtic support is also demanding answers from the club about the reported review into Lennon's performance that was supposed to have taken place during January.
Rangers are now 23 points ahead of the Bhoys and the dreams of 10 titles in a row have evaporated as the clouds continue to gather over Parkhead.
Kilmarnock Scottish Premiership form: WDWLLL
Celtic Scottish Premiership form: LDDDWL
Team News
© Reuters
Kilmarnock will be without veteran defender Kirk Broadfoot, who has a knee problem, and Stuart Findlay is out with an ankle injury.
Calum Waters is sidelined with an abdominal issue, while winger Greg Kiltie and midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu are also doubtful.
Gary Dicker returned to the squad on Saturday and is expected to feature again.
Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths faced criticism from his manager again about his fitness levels after being substituted at half time against St Mirren, and he may not feature against Killie.
James Forrest is nearing a return to action, with Lennon hoping to have the Scotland winger back for the run-in to the season, but he is not fit yet.
Christopher Jullien is still out with a knee injury, while Ryan Christie continues to be linked with a move away from the club.
Kilmarnock possible starting lineup:
Rogers; Millen, Dikamona, Rossi, Haunstrup; Burke, Power, Tshibola, McKenzie; Oakley, Kabamba
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Bain; Ajer, Bitton, Duffy, Taylor; Soro; Turnbull, Elyounoussi, McGregor; Ajeti, Edouard
We say: Kilmarnock 0-1 Celtic
Our prediction for this game is that Celtic will head back to Glasgow with three points after a narrow 1-0 win that will do little to inspire confidence among the club's fans.
The Celts are fortunate to be facing a club that has just lost its manager and that should be enough to give them the edge they need to win.
