St Mirren v Celtic: Injury-Hit Rivals Clash in Paisley
Saturday night under the lights in Paisley. Top of the table on the line. And two managers juggling more absentees than they’d care to admit.
Kick-off is 8pm BST at The Marbill Coaches Stadium, where St Mirren and Celtic meet with early-season momentum – and patched-up lineups – pulling the story in opposite directions.
McLeish light in midfield for high-stakes test
Craig McLeish has problems right where no manager wants them: in the middle of the pitch.
Killian Phillips is out with a shin injury, officially ruled unavailable for this one, even if St Mirren are encouraged by his planned return to light grass work next week. Liam Donnelly, usually a steadying presence, is sidelined by an abductor issue. Malik Dijksteel joins him on the treatment table with a hamstring problem.
Those three absences strip McLeish’s side of depth and bite in central areas for a match that will almost certainly be decided there.
The long-term blow remains Jonah Ayunga. His recovery schedule keeps him out until January, a lingering absence that continues to limit St Mirren’s attacking options and flexibility.
So McLeish turns to a reshaped spine. Jacob Chapman is expected to start in goal, with a reworked backline in front of him that should feature Alexandros Gogic and Henry Fieldson. The structure is clear; the question is whether there’s enough control and composure in front of them to keep Celtic at arm’s length.
Celtic’s left-back crisis deepens
Across the technical area, Martin O’Neill is wrestling with his own selection headache – and it’s concentrated on one side of the defence.
Celtic arrive in Paisley with a full-blown left-back crisis. Kieran Tierney is out. Kasper Høgh is out. Callum Osmand is out. Thigh strains and ankle problems have ripped through O’Neill’s options in a position he normally takes for granted.
The solution, again, is Liam Scales. The defender is expected to plug the gap on the left once more, a makeshift answer that has quickly become a recurring theme in Celtic’s early-season story.
The bad news doesn’t stop there. New Chelsea loanee Landon Emenalo, signed to strengthen the squad, has picked up a training knock and is not yet ready to debut. Alistair Johnston is unavailable until October with a fresh injury of his own, while Jota continues his recovery from a long-term knee problem.
Celtic’s depth is being tested, but their standards have not dipped. Up front, Camilo Durán is set to lead the line again, tasked with stretching a St Mirren defence that has already been through the wringer this season.
There is at least some relief for O’Neill. Late-window arrivals Joël van den Berg and Jordan Lotomba have both been cleared to play and could feature. Fresh legs, fresh ideas – and at a time when Celtic badly need both.
Form guide: unbeaten Saints face relentless leaders
St Mirren come into the weekend with genuine belief. They sit just two points off the summit after an impressive, unbeaten start to their league campaign, taking ten points from their first four matches.
The scars of a heavy League Cup defeat to Rangers are still there, but the response has been sharp. A wild 3-3 draw with Motherwell showcased both their attacking threat and defensive fragility. Then came a gritty 1-0 away win at Kilmarnock, a statement that McLeish’s side can dig in and scrap for points when the spectacle fades.
Across from them stand the leaders.
Celtic top the Scottish Premiership with a perfect domestic record: four games, four wins. They swept aside Aberdeen 3-0, then had to grind in a 2-1 victory over Falkirk, proof they can win with flair or with grit. Their one major setback came in Europe, an extra-time exit in UEFA Champions League qualifying against LASK, a reminder that the margins at that level are ruthless.
Domestically, though, they have been ruthless in their own right, outscoring Premiership opponents 11-2 so far. The numbers underline it: they are setting the pace, and they are doing it with authority.
Predicted lineups
St Mirren are expected to line up with:
- Chapman; Ramsay, Gogic, Fieldson, John; Nsio, Carr; Mochrie, Taylor, Kabia; Agrafiotis
Celtic’s projected XI:
- Sinisalo; Donovan, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Scales; McGregor; Hassan, Nygren, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Hyun-Jun; Duran
Plenty of quality. Plenty of makeshift solutions. And very little room for error.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live, exclusively, on Sky Sports Football.
An unbeaten St Mirren chasing the leaders. A Celtic side trying to stay flawless despite a patched-up back line. On a tight Paisley pitch, under the floodlights, which story keeps rolling and which one hits its first real bump?
