Celtic will travel to the SMISA Stadium and face St. Mirren in round 19 of the Scottish Premiership. The visitors have fallen seven points behind the league leaders but still have a game in hand. They will look to close the gap and continue their run of six league victories in a row.
St. Mirren sits ninth in the league standings with 18 points in 18 games. The team has won three matches, drawn nine, and lost six matches. They have scored 18 goals and average one goal per match. The xG rate of the team is 21.35.
The biggest concern for St. Mirren is their defense. The home team has conceded 29 goals with an xGA of 28.4. However, St. Mirren had created the third-highest number of positional attacks in the league. They have created 532 positional attacks with an average of 29.14 attacks per 90. St. Mirren players have attempted 202 shots, of which 76 have been on target.
Eamonn Brophy has scored five goals in 17 appearances for the home team. He has scored one goal from the penalty spot. Conor McCarthy is the only major concern for the home team. He is out with an ankle injury, but there are no other concerns in the home camp.
Celtic sit second in the league table with 41 points in 18 games. They have won 13 games, drawn two, and lost three games. They have scored 39 goals and have the best defense in the league as they have conceded only 11 goals. Celtic have the highest expected goal rate in the league. Their xG is 44.85, and have attempted 354 shots in the league this season.
The above viz shows the shot attempts made by Celtic against Motherwell. They attempted 25 shots with a 28% shot accuracy rate. 15 shots were attempted from inside the opposition’s penalty box, including the goal.
Kyogo Furuhashi is the top goal-scorer for the away team. He has eight goals to his name and recently scored a brace in the league cup against Hibernian after returning from injury. Carl Starfelt will miss this match due to suspension. James Forrest and David Turnbull are unavailable for selection due to injuries.
Celtic will look to get points in their seventh league match in a row to lower down the gap at the top of the table. They have managed to win 13 games and have the best defense in the league. St. Mirren have only won one out of nine games played at home and will find it difficult to face an in-form Celtic side.
