Scottish Cup | Fourth Round

Jan 18, 2025 at 5.30pm UK

Celtic Park

Celtic vs Kilmarnock

Match preview

Celtic have had an amazing 2024-25 season so far. They're top of the Scottish Premiership with a 13-point lead, on track to qualify for the Champions League knockout rounds, and they've already won the Scottish League Cup final.

Brendan Rodgers's men have only lost two of their 33 games played across all competitions, including a 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund and a 3-0 loss to Rangers at the beginning of this month.

But the Bhoys have shown great character to bounce back from both defeats, going unbeaten in the next four matches after the loss to Dortmund, and winning three and drawing one of the last four.

Now heading into their fourth competition of the campaign, Rodgers will be looking for his side to extend their unbeaten run and progress into the fifth round, with an eye on defending their Scottish Cup trophy for a third successive season.

The Bhoys will be confident about beating Kilmarnock, especially as Celtic haven't lost to Killie at Celtic Park for 20 matches, going back to October 2012.

Killie are also having a tough time right now, having won just three of their last 13 games, with six losses and four draws.

That means Derek McInnes's side is now ninth in the Scottish Premiership table with 25 points from 23 games, after six wins, seven draws and 10 defeats. That's a far cry from their fourth-placed finish last year!

Kilmarnock have been struggling to score goals this season, with only Ross County scoring fewer than their 25 goals in 23 league games, and they haven't scored in their last two games.

Going into this match against Celtic, McInnes's team are the underdogs, but the manager will be hoping a shock victory could help turn their underwhelming start to the season around.

Recent Performance

Celtic form (all competitions):WLWWWD

Kilmarnock form (all competitions):DWLWLD

Team News

Celtic will be without James Forrest (foot) for this match due to ongoing injury issues,he is likely to return later this month.Daizen Maeda has missed Celtic's last two games through injury, but the latest news is that he could be back in contention for this game.

After a disappointing 3-3 draw with Dundee in their last game, Rodgers could make several changes to his side for this one, with Arne Engels and Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn expected to start.

The visitors will be without Kyle Vassell (shin) and Stuart Findlay (ankle) until the end of the month because of injuries.

Kilmarnock's top scorer in the league, Bruce Anderson, didn't start in their recent 0-0 draw with Motherwell, but he's likely to start here because McInnes's side are struggling to score.

Possible starting lineup

Celtic possible starting lineup:

Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Valle; McCowan, McGregor, Engels; Kuhn, Furuhashi, Hyun-Jun

Kilmarnock possible starting lineup:

O'Hara; Mayo, Wright, Deas; Armstrong, Lyons, Polworth, Ndaba; Murray, Wales; Anderson