St Mirren vs Celtic: Prediction, Lineups & Kickoff Time | Scottish Premiership 2025/26

On: December 12, 2025 2:11 AM

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St Mirren vs Celtic — Match Preview

An intriguing Scottish Premiership clash takes place at the neutral venue of Hampden Park on Sunday, 14 December 2025. With St Mirren’s home ground undergoing maintenance (implied by the venue change), the Buddies host the defending champions at the National Stadium. St Mirren are looking to build on a solid 2–0 win over Dundee United and a battling draw with Aberdeen. Celtic, meanwhile, are looking to bounce back immediately after a shock 1–2 home defeat to Hearts halted their winning streak. The Hoops know they cannot afford another slip-up in the title race.

St Mirren vs Celtic — Match Info

Competition: Scottish Premiership (Matchday 17)
Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow (Capacity: 51,866)
Date: Sunday, 14 December 2025
Kickoff: 12:30 GMT | 13:30 CET | 07:30 ET
Referee: Nick Walsh (Expected)

St Mirren vs Celtic — Match Stakes

St Mirren (Mid-table):

Win → A massive statement; solidifies their push for a Top 6 finish
Draw → A bonus point against the champions; keeps momentum building
Loss → Expected result; focus remains on beating teams around them

Celtic (Title Chasers):

Win → Restores confidence after the Hearts loss; keeps pressure on rivals (Rangers/Aberdeen)
Draw → Two games without a win would be a mini-crisis
Loss → disastrous for title hopes; could see them drop points behind the leaders

St Mirren vs Celtic — Team News

St Mirren:

O’Hara M. — Available (Captain & Key Midfielder)
Ayunga J. — Available (Goal threat)
No major fresh injuries reported following the win vs Dundee Utd.

Celtic:

Carter-Vickers C. — Available (Defensive leader)
McGregor C. — Available (Captain)
Kyogo F. — Available (Starting Striker)
Kuhn N. — Questionable (Knock vs Hearts)

St Mirren vs Celtic — Team Form (Last 5 Matches)

St Mirren

06/12 — 2–0 vs Dundee Utd (Premiership)
04/12 — 3–3 vs Aberdeen (Premiership)
29/11 — 1–3 vs Dundee FC (Premiership)
23/11 — 0–1 vs Celtic (Premiership)
08/11 — 0–3 vs Hibernian (Premiership)

Celtic

07/12 — 1–2 vs Hearts (Premiership)
04/12 — 1–0 vs Dundee FC (Premiership)
30/11 — 2–1 vs Hibernian (Premiership)
27/11 — 3–1 vs Feyenoord (Europa League)
23/11 — 1–0 vs St Mirren (Premiership)

St Mirren vs Celtic — Head-to-Head (Last 5 Meetings)

23/11/2025 — St Mirren 0–1 Celtic (Premiership)
03/08/2025 — Celtic 1–0 St Mirren (Premiership)
17/05/2025 — Celtic 1–1 St Mirren (Premiership)
01/03/2025 — St Mirren 2–5 Celtic (Premiership)
05/01/2025 — Celtic 3–0 St Mirren (Premiership)

St Mirren vs Celtic — Playing XI (Predicted Lineups)

St Mirren (3-4-3)

Balcombe; Gogic, Taylor, Fraser; Bwomono, Phillips, O’Hara, Tanser; Smyth, Ayunga, Mandron

Celtic (4-3-3)

Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; McGregor, Engels, Hatate; Kuhn, Kyogo, Maeda

St Mirren vs Celtic — Impact Bench

St Mirren: Olusanya (Pace on the counter), Idowu (Creative spark)

Celtic: Idah (Physical presence), Forrest (Experience)

St Mirren vs Celtic — Tactical Analysis

St Mirren

Stephen Robinson’s men will set up in a compact 3-4-3/5-4-1 block. Their recent 3–3 draw with Aberdeen showed they have goals in them, but they must be disciplined defensively. At Hampden, the wider pitch might actually hurt their ability to congest space compared to the tight SMISA Stadium. They will look to hit long diagonals to Mandron to bypass Celtic’s press.

Celtic

Brendan Rodgers will demand a reaction. Against Hearts, they were sluggish and punished on the break. Celtic will dominate possession (likely 70%+) and look to move the ball quickly to tire St Mirren out on the large Hampden surface. The key will be the rotation of Hatate and Engels in midfield to unlock the low block that frustrated them in the 1–0 win last month.

St Mirren vs Celtic — Key Battles

Gogic vs Kyogo — physical power vs elite movement
O’Hara vs McGregor — battle for midfield territory
Tanser vs Kuhn — stopping the cut-inside threat
Balcombe vs Maeda — goalkeeper reflexes vs relentless pressing

St Mirren vs Celtic — Spotlight Players

St Mirren — Mark O’Hara

The captain is the engine room. If St Mirren are to get anything, O’Hara needs to break up play and drive the team forward on the counter.

Celtic — Reo Hatate

When Hatate ticks, Celtic tick. His ability to find killer passes through tight defenses is crucial against a team like St Mirren that will park the bus.

St Mirren vs Celtic — Prediction

St Mirren 0–2 Celtic

St Mirren have improved recently, but Celtic rarely lose two league games in a row. The expansive pitch at Hampden suits Celtic’s wingers better than St Mirren’s compact defense. Expect a professional performance from the champions.