Celtic are looking to continue their Scottish Premiership title defence when they face St Johnstone this Sunday.
First-half goals from Greg Taylor, Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi secured a 3-0 win for Celtic over Livingston in their last outing, maintaining the Hoops' nine-point lead over title chasers Rangers. Ange Postecoglou's side are on a relentless run of form at the moment, with the victory over Livingston their sixth consecutive win with a clean sheet.
Celtic have an impressive track record against Sunday's opposition, with the Hoops winning all of their last eight meetings against St Johnstone. The most recent clash saw Celtic emerge 4-1 winners over the Saints on Christmas Eve, with Reo Hatate and Kyogo both bagging a brace
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So, can Celtic continue their winning ways? We simulated the game to try and find out.
St Johnstone vs Celtic simulated
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the Rangers and Celtic squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that the Saints could set up in a 3-5-2 formation, with their line-up as follows: Matthews; Mitchell, Gordon, Considine; Wright, Phillips, Hallberg, MacPherson, Brown; May, Clark.
We predict that the Hoops could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Hart; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Starfelt, Taylor; McGregor, O'Riley, Mooy; Jota, Kyogo, Maeda.
The hosts caused trouble for Celtic in the opening stages of the game, with Melker Hallberg striking the post from range nine minutes in. The hosts looked most likely to score in the opening 15 minutes, but pressure was lifted off Celtic shoulders just before the break when Kyogo sent the Hoops ahead.
Callum McGregor sprayed a pass out to Maeda on the left in space, and the winger did fantastic to take the ball in his stride and skip past his marker towards the box. As Maeda entered the area, he pulled the ball back for Kyogo, and the striker spun past his defender before arrowing his effort past the 'keeper.
Kyogo and Jota both came close as Celtic dominated the second half, but the Hoops weren't convinving in front of goal, and plenty of chances went begging. As the game went on, the nerves started to kick in for the visitors, and in the 89th minute, Celtic's lead was wiped out as St Johnstone equalised.
As a corner was whipped into the box, Nicky Clark attacked the front post, challenging two Celtic players for the ball. Clark met the cross with a powerful header, and his effort flew past Joe Hart as the hosts stole a point late on.
FIFA 23 predicted score: St Johnstone 1-1 Celtic
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that Celtic could find their trip to McDiarmid Park a difficult one, with their winning streak coming to an end in the simulation. The Hoops were wasteful in front of goal, but a draw isn't the worst result in the world considering the large lead they already possess over Rangers in the title race.
What do you think the score will be on Sunday? Let us know in the comments!
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