Celtic starting XI vs St Johnstone: Harsh Rodgers call made as one star benched for Perth visit

Brendan Rodgers has named his Celtic starting XI and substitutes to face Hibs in their latest Scottish Premiership clash at McDiarmid Park in Perth this lunchtime.

The Hoops - aiming to take another big step towards securing the title - can extend their lead at the top of the table to 16 points over second-placed Rangers with a victory after the Ibrox side crashed to a 2-0 defeat at home to Hibs on Saturday - their fifth loss on the bounce in Govan.

Brendan Rodgers’ side require just three wins from clinching a fourth successive championship and a 13th in the last 14 seasons. Standing in their way today is the league’s bottom club, who are detached by five points and battling to avoid relegation.

Rodgers has made just ONE change to his line-up from the 3-0 Scottish Premiership win over Hearts at Parkhead last weekend, with Polish centre-back Maik Nawrocki dropping to the bench despite two positive outings in recent weeks. Auston Trusty returns from a short injury absence to re-establish his settled partnership with Cameron Carter-Vickers.

What has attacker, Jota said?

“The mindset is game by game. Everyone knows exactly what to do. We just stick with our principles and I think everything will go through. Having lads who have been in this position for several years is really good, and then it’s about passing that culture to the young lads coming through.

“In the end, it’s just a matter of putting everything together and fighting to the same goal. The structure of the team is made for each player to have success in each position. It’s up to us to be competitive in the games and reach our goals.”

Here's your confirmed starting line ups ahead of today’s encounter in Perth..

St Johnstone starting XI: (4-2-3-1)

Andy Fisher; Daniels Balodis, Zach Mitchell, Victor Griffith, Jason Holt (C), Graham Carey, Drey Wright, Adama Sidibeh, Stephen Duke-McKenna, Makenzie Kirk, Sam Curtis.

SUBS: Ross Sinclair (GK), Jonathan Svedberg, Nicky Clark, Taylor Steven, Sven Sprangler, Matthew Smith, Josh McPake, Benjamin Kimpioka, Elliot Watt.

Celtic starting XI: (4-3-3)

Viljami Sinisalo; Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, Jeffrey Schlupp; Callum McGregor (C), Arne Engels, Reo Hatate; Jota, Nicolas Kuhn, Daizen Maeda.

SUBS: Scott Bain (GK), Greg Taylor, Auston Trusty, Adam Idah, Yang Hyun-jun, Luke McCowan, Maik Nawrocki, Paulo Bernardo, James Forrest, Anthony Ralston.