One of the man reasons for last weekend's disaster was the absence of Will Haining. The former Oldham defender was suspended after his red card against Caley Thistle and was due to return tomorrow. However, media reports suggest he is a doubt and will undergo a fitness test tomorrow, which is bad news. Another John Potter/Andy Millen pairing at the back could have even worse consequences than last week. However, Saints boss Gus MacPherson may feel his side is unlikely to take anything from tomorrow's game and not bother risking Haining. Watch through your fingers time if that happens.
Aside from Haining, there's only one other injured player at present, with Richard Brittain still out with a broken foot. Ian Maxwell, Craig Dargo and Craig Molloy seem to be edging closer to the first team with every passing week, while Eddie Malone is gaining fitness during his extended loan period at Dundee. If everyone can get themselves fit for January (Brittain aside), it could make things interesting.
One player who is injured is Chris Birchall, which is why he's been sent back to Coventry City. As a result, expect Alan Reid or Stephen McGinn to play wide right, with Stephen O'Donnell an outside possibility. We're probably going to go 4-5-1 - a formation that hasn't exactly worked wonders in the recent past.
Our record against Celtic when in the past few seasons we've been in the same league has been abysmal, with few goals and points to show for our efforts. It's something that is unlikely to change tomorrow. At home, they are strong in defence and seem to be superb up front, in particular down to the efforts of Scott McDonald. Namesake Brown was superb at Love Street in September, despite his micky taking towards the end, and he - along with Aiden McGeady - could tear us apart.
Celtic will win almost certainly win tomorrow and, after last week, it could well be a landslide victory.