Preview: Livingston vs. Celtic - prediction, team news, lineups

Two teams at opposite ends of the Scottish Premiership will collide on Sunday as Celtic make the trip to Almondvale Stadium to take on Livingston.

The hosts find themselves at the foot of the table with just one point after their opening five games, while the Hoops have the potential to end the weekend on top depending on other results.

Match preview

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Livingston have had a miserable start to the 2021-22 campaign after losing four of their first five fixtures in the Scottish Premiership, with just one draw to their name.

While they were able to find a victory in the Scottish League Cup, even that was the result of a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw with St Mirren, as the Lions have not won a match since July in 90 minutes.

The season started poorly with a 3-0 loss away at Rangers, and they have been unable to get out of that slump since, with defeats against Aberdeen, Motherwell and Hibernian.

While all of those teams currently find themselves in the top half of the table, things do not get any easier as they now face Celtic, who are also up amongst those clubs chasing the top spots.

Despite the poor start to the season, David Martindale's men put in one of their best performances of the campaign during their last game against Dundee, which saw them earn a point.

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The two teams battled it out to a goalless draw, which was a positive result for the Lions, although they were unable to put any of their 12 shots into the back of the net.

This has been a continuing problem for Livingston so far this season, as they have scored just two goals in the league, which is something that the attacking players must address in order to steer the club away from the relegation zone.

A victory does have the potential to lift the Lions as high as eighth place in the table depending on other results, but they will need to massively improve upon the last time they faced the Hoops, as Martindale's squad lost 6-0.

Celtic will also be hoping other fixtures provide kind results, as a win could actually see them finish this weekend top of the league, which would be an ideal situation.

However, they will need to respond to the defeat that they suffered midweek in the Europa League against Real Betis, in what proved to be a seven-goal thriller.

Ange Postecoglou saw his team lose 4-3, despite originally being 2-0 ahead in the opening 30 minutes of the game, with the result not being the ideal start to their European adventure.

Their most recent Scottish Premiership performance was a much stronger one though as the Hoops defeated Ross County 3-0, with a brace from Albian Ajeti helping to secure that.

With the team having scored 16 goals already in the league, they have certainly proven themselves to be a serious attacking threat, and that is something they shall be aiming to take into Sunday's encounter.

Team News

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Celtic are set to be without Greg Taylor for a while as it was recently confirmed he will require surgery on the shoulder injury that he sustained.

Josip Juranovic made a great impact filling his place at left-back against Real Betis, though, as he actually got himself on the scoresheet within the game, and he is expected to keep that place during Taylor's absence.

However, the Hoops have a serious injury list at the moment, with Kyogo Furuhashi out due to a knee problem, while Callum McGregor, James Forrest, Mikey Johnston, Karamoko Dembele, and Christopher Jullien also missed out on Thursday night due to a variety of reasons.

Livingston remain without Jack McMillan and Jaze Kabia, who will be out of action for the foreseeable future due to knee injuries, but that is something that Martindale has now adjusted to.

After keeping a clean sheet against Dundee it is expected that the same back four will be used, with Jason Holt just sitting ahead of them in defensive midfield.

Keaghan Jacobs was used from the bench in the game last weekend and he could find himself in contention for a starting place, while Bruce Anderson will be the sole striker for the Lions.

Martindale also chose to drop Odin Bailey last time out, starting Ben Williamson out wide instead, with the two men now in a battle over who gets the nod in the first XI.

Livingston possible starting lineup:
Stryjek; Devlin, Obileye, Fitzwater, Penrice; Holt, Sibbald, Williamson, Shinnie, Forrest; Anderson

Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; Ralston, Juranovic, Starfelt, Carter-Vickers; Rogic, Turnbull, Soro; Jota, Montgomery, Ajeti

We say: Livingston 0-3 Celtic

Celtic have a far stronger team and should have enough to secure three points on Sunday, especially considering how impressive they have been in front of goal this season.

While Livingston might take confidence from the recent draw against Dundee, this particular fixture will prove to be a tough one for them to build momentum from.