St Mirren and Celtic couldn't have endured more contrasting campaigns, but when the two teams meet at St Mirren Park on Friday evening, one team will be move closer to securing their target at either end of the table.
Celtic are in the driving seat as far as the Scottish Premiership title is concerned and even a defeat wouldn't harm their ambitions, but St Mirren need points on the board in order to avoid relegation from the top tier of Scottish football.
Team News: St Mirren vs Celtic
Celtic player Jason Denayer heads the opening goal during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Aberdeen at Celtic Park Stadium on March 1, 2015
18-year-old Lewis McLear is expected to remain on the substitutes' bench for St Mirren, despite committing his immediate future to the club by penning a new three-year contract.
However, with the team struggling for goals, Teale could make alterations in his attack, with Yoann Arquin in contention to come into the side as he continues to search for his first strike since joining from Ross County in January.
As for Celtic, Jason Denayer and Nir Bitton will both be assessed on Thursday when returning from international duty with Belgium and Israel respectively.
Liam Henderson is out of the reckoning after departing the club to join Rosenborg on loan for the rest of the season, but John Guidetti is likely to keep his place after netting in the last match before the break.
St Mirren
Gary Teale of St Mirren in action during the pre season friendly match between Carlisle United and St Mirren at Brunton Park on August 01, 2014
After finishing in eighth position last season, St Mirren would have had high hopes of continuing their progression with a top-six finish, but this campaign has turned into a nightmare for the Buddies.
For a team of their standing, five wins on the road is respectable, but just one victory at St Mirren Park - which came in their last home fixture against Hamilton Academical - has left them four points adrift at the bottom of the table.
Manager Gary Teale would jump at the chance to compete in a playoff fixture to try to maintain their top-flight status, but they must overturn a run of form that has seen them lose four of their last five games where just two goals have been netted.
Unless they can keep a clean sheet against the league leaders, St Mirren need to score at least two goals in the game, something which has only been achieved once since the turn of the year.
However, at the other end of the pitch, only Aberdeen have managed to score three times past St Mirren in 14 matches, a statistic that may give them belief heading into Friday's game.
Celtic
Celtic manager Ronny Delia looks on during the Scottish Premiership League Match between Celtic and Dundee United, at Celtic Park on August 16, 2014
Ever since the demise of Old Firm rivals Rangers, much of Celtic's hard work in the league is usually done at this stage of the season, and that's no different this year.
Aberdeen are fighting valiantly in an attempt to keep pace with Celtic, but the Glasgow giants possess a five-point advantage with a game in hand and it will be tough for the Dons to catch Ronny Deila's men.
A strange run of encounters has seen Celtic play Dundee United four times in a row in the league and two cup competitions, but they have prevailed in all three situations, including winning the League Cup and earning a 3-0 success in their last league outing.
Deila is likely to welcome the change of scenery as they target a domestic treble, but the Norwegian will be eager to avoid complacency after St Johnstone recently proved that they can still be beaten.
However, the club have only conceded two goals in their last six games, with three successive clean sheets being registered, and unless they drastically under perform against their struggling opponents, it's unlikely that their recent record will come to an end.
H2H Comparison St. Mirren - Celtic
Direct Comparison of the Performance, Estimations and Results for both Soccer Teams St. Mirren and Celtic.
The last Game of St. Mirren at Home on 28/02/2015 was against Hamilton with the Result 1 : 0 and
the Team Celtic played last time away on 15/03/2015 against Dundee United Result 0 : 2.
The last 5 matches of St. Mirren
21.03.2015 St Johnstone - St. Mirren 2:0 L
14.03.2015 FC Kilmarnock - St. Mirren 1:0 L
28.02.2015 St. Mirren - Hamilton Academical 1:0 W
21.02.2015 FC Aberdeen - St. Mirren 3:0 L
14.02.2015 St. Mirren - Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1:2 L
The last 5 matches of Celtic Glasgow
21.03.2015 Celtic Glasgow - Dundee United 3:0 W
05.03.2015 Celtic Glasgow - St Johnstone 0:1 L
01.03.2015 Celtic Glasgow - FC Aberdeen 4:0 W
22.02.2015 Celtic Glasgow - Hamilton Academical 4:0 W
14.02.2015 St Johnstone - Celtic Glasgow 1:2 W
Tag :
Scottish Premiership
