Predicted Celtic team vs Kilmarnock: 5 changes as Rodgers targets emphatic reaction from St Johnstone defeat

Brendan Rodgers is demanding a strong reaction from his Celtic side to last weekend’s shock defeat at rock-bottom St Johnstone when they take on fellow Premiership strugglers Kilmarnock in their final game before the fixture split.

The Hoops boss isn’t one to often show much emotion on the touchline, but that wasn’t the case at McDiarmid Park as he criticised his players’ mentality for taking their eye off the ball in a scathing post-match interview following the 1-0 defeat.

The champions-elect return to home soil on Saturday afternoon knowing a victory will move them to the cusp of wrapping up a fourth successive league crown. And if nearest challengers Rangers fail to beat Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Sunday, Rodgers’ men will be crowned champions.

Changes are expected for the visit of the relegation-threatened Ayrshire outfit after a furious Rodgers hooked TWO stars - Nicolas Kuhn and Jeffrey Schlupp - at half-time in Perth. The Northern Irishman will want his players to show the best version of themselves this time around, admitting they are focused on getting the job done and showing why they are the best team in Scotland.

“If we’re going to be champions, then we want to show why we’re champions,” Rodgers admitted in his pre-match media conference. “We want to have that mentality and those strong performances, and I’ve spoken before about sprinting over the line. For us, it’s all about getting over the line.

“Everyone is anticipating that it’ll be done, but it’s not done until you get the points. It’s about preparing for the game tomorrow and putting in a strong performance which we’ll need. And then we’ll keep collecting the points until we are the champions.

“Throughout the season, there have been questions asked and there have been setbacks and rather than play the victim, we’ve tried to be the victors after that. But you have to put your head down, work hard, analyse honestly what went wrong and then move on.

“This group want to work. They’re a fantastic group of young guys who have been amazing for this club over the course of this season. They’ve shown they’ve improved, but there’s just that little thing that I want us to keep building on, and that’s a mindset of being relentless. That’s something we want to improve on.”

Predicted Celtic XI vs Kilmarnock

Viljami Sinisalo, Anthony Ralston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, Greg Taylor; Callum McGregor, Luke McCowan, Paulo Bernardo; James Forrest, Jota, Daizen Maeda.

SUBS: Scott Bain (GK), Alistair Johnston, Adam Idah, Nicolas Kuhn, Yang Hyun-jun, Jeffrey Schlupp, Maik Nawrocki, Arne Engels, Reo Hatate.