This is the start of two games against Celtic in a week, split by a midweek match against Aberdeen. Due to the loan agreement, Scott Cuthbert can't play - although there's no Mark McGhee style whining about this as it's perfectly acceptable. The young defender will be replaced by Will Haining (unless Andy Millen makes an ill-advised comeback), who hasn't played for the first team since we last played Celtic. Cuthbert's absence robbs us of a bit of height at the back and Haining has looked shaky in the reserves - plus we know what happened last time he played at Parkhead.
There's an extremely good chance we'll revert to one striker for tomorrow's game and it'll almost certainly be Billy Mehmet. It's therefore up to the midfield to try to get forward to support him when they can. Fortunately, with Andy Dorman in the team, we don't need to worry about that. Dorman's runs into the box are a joy to watch and another top notch display tomorrow would be more than welcome. Whether anyone else from midfield will join him in getting forward is unclear - Hugh Murray isn't an offensive player and Garry Brady rarely goes forward, although has scored a few times this season. One option will be for Stephen "grandson of former Celtic chairman Jack" McGinn to come in as he bids for another big game goal - and his third at Parkhead.
On the injury front, we don't have our troubles to seek. Marc McAusland, Tom Brighton, Franco Miranda, Stephen O'Donnell and Steven Robb are all out. This should make the bench interesting - although it'll be full of strikers if we only go with one up front. If we do go down that route, Craig Dargo and Jim Hamilton are handy options to have, although I'd rather the former was in the team.
Celtic are just a few days away from implosion - according to the media and some of their more idiotic fans. The poor dears haven't won for a few games and are now second in the league (on goal difference), so clearly it is crisis time at Parkhead. What a load of nonsense - if we found ourselves in such a position we'd be over the moon, but it isn't good enough for some Celtic fans. No doubt these are the same idiots who have been calling for Gordon Strachan to get the boot almost since he walked through the door in 2005.
Celtic have two players who have hurt us a lot in the past in their squad. Paul Hartley is much hated by Saints fans, while Barry Robson usually scored against us for Dundee United. Their move to Celtic has worked in our favour in my view, as neither has been anywhere near as effective against us since they arrived at Parkhead - although this should ensure they score tomorrow. It doesn't matter that they haven't produced the goods as Celtic still have plenty of other players who can score goals, like Scott McDonald and Aiden McGeady.
A few years ago Saints fans were confident of taking something from Ibrox when Rangers were in crisis - and we lost 7-1. Sadly, I can see another heavy defeat tomorrow as we're usually more than willing to help out a team that's apparently struggling.