Martin O’Neill under pressure as injury-hit Celtic F.C. face St Mirren F.C. with 11 missing

All the early team news ahead of Celtic F.C.’s Scottish Premiership clash with St Mirren F.C. at Parkhead this weekend.

Celtic will be aiming to maintain pressure on title rivals Heart of Midlothian F.C. and Rangers F.C. when they host St Mirren on Saturday afternoon.

A dramatic late victory over Dundee United F.C. last time out reduced the gap to the summit to just three points, and with Rangers not in action until the following day, Martin O’Neill’s side could climb into second place with another win.

St Mirren, however, arrive with renewed confidence after a crucial 2-0 win over Aberdeen F.C., which helped them move further away from the relegation playoff zone.

In terms of team news, Celtic continue to deal with a number of injury setbacks. Arne Engels remains a doubt, while Julian Araujo, Alistair Johnston, Kasper Schmeichel, Colby Donovan, Callum Osmand, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Adam Montgomery and Jota are all ruled out.

There could be changes to the starting XI, with Kelechi Iheanacho pushing for a recall after scoring the winner off the bench last weekend, while Marcelo Saracchi will also hope to earn a starting spot.

For St Mirren, Keanu Baccus, Marcus Fraser and Malik Dijksteel are unavailable, with the latter expected to miss the remainder of the season.

With both teams chasing crucial points for very different reasons, the encounter at Parkhead promises to be an important one as the season enters its decisive phase.