Celtic will be looking to continue their Scottish Cup journey on Saturday when they host St Mirren in the fifth round of the competition.
Aaron Mooy and Kyogo Furuhashi both scored twice in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup for Celtic, with David Turnbull also getting in on the act in a 5-0 win over Greenock Morton. St Mirren advanced to the fifth round in a less comfortable manner, beating Dundee United on penalties following a 0-0 draw.
Ange Postecoglou 's side have won seven games on the bounce in all competitions heading into Saturday's clash, with their most recent result a 4-1 win over St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership. Celtic have faced the Paisley Saints twice so far this season, winning one and losing one.
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So, can Celtic book their spot in the next round of the Scottish Cup on Saturday? We simulated the game to try and find out.
Celtic vs St Mirren simulated
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the Celtic squad with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that Celtic could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Hart; Johnston, Kobayashi, Carter-Vickers, Taylor; Mooy, McGregor, O'Riley; Abada, Kyogo, Haksabanovic.
We predict that the visitors could set up in a 3-5-2 formation, with their line-up as follows: Carson; Fraser, Gogic, Dunne; Strain, Kiltie, Bacucus, O'Hara, Tanser; Main, Greive.
Sead Haksabanovic is predicted to come into the Celtic XI as one of many changes, and the winger came close to opening the scoring after 20 minutes when he rattled the crossbar with a volley from close range. As expected, the Hoops dominated the opening stages as they tested Trevor Carson on multiple occasions, and they finally opened the scoring after 49 minutes through Aaron Mooy.
A diagonal pass from Liel Abada picked out Haksabanovic just inside the box, and after controlling the cross with his chest, he rolled the ball into the path of Mooy who was charging into the area. The setup was perfect, and the midfielder hit a first-time strike into the corner of the net to send his side ahead.
Out of nowhere, St Mirren found an equaliser with a stroke of luck when Curtis Main bundled a free kick over the goal line following a scramble inside the box. All of a sudden, the Hoops were pegged back to 1-1, but it didn't take long for Postecoglou's side to regain the lead.
After pressing the visitors deep in their half, Abada won back possession on the edge of the St Mirren box with options in support. After entering the box, the winger drilled a pass across the face of goal, and Haksabanovic tapped in from close range to make it 2-1.
With 20 minutes to go, Jot was introduced off the bench to try and secure the three points, and he grabbed a brace in the final 10 to make it 4-1 to Celtic. His first goal was the simplest of the two, with the Portuguese forward pouncing on a spill from the 'keeper to tap into the net.
Jota then made it 4-1 in the 87th minute when the Hoops hit the Paisley Saints on the break, with Abada leading the attack. The Israeli sent a cross towards the back post with the outside of his boot, and Jota was able to guide a well-timed header into the net to confirm Celtic's spot in the next round of the Scottish Cup.
FIFA 23 predicted score: Celtic 4-1 St Mirren
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that despite a scare in the second half, Celtic could win convincingly against St Mirren on Saturday. Liel Abada and Sead Haksabanovic proved threats on either wing, whilst Aaron Mooy is tipped to continue his goalscoring form.
What do you think the score will be between Celtic and St Mirren on Saturday? Let us know in the comments!
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