Celtic welcome Falkirk to Celtic Park on Sunday for a Scottish Premiership clash, with the hosts looking to close the gap at the top of the table.
The Glasgow side sit third with 45 points from 23 games, nine adrift of leaders Hearts, who have 54 points from 24 matches.
Celtic head into this fixture on the back of an impressive 4-2 victory over FC Utrecht on 30 January, a result that wrapped up their Europa League group-phase campaign. That win ensured progression to the play-off round, with Celtic finishing 21st in the overall Europa League standings.
Before that European success, Martin O’Neill’s men were held to a 2-2 draw away to Hearts on 25 January, a dramatic contest in which Celtic were reduced to ten men following Auston Trusty’s much-debated red card at Tynecastle.
Celtic team news
O’Neill must again juggle a stretched squad, with several important players missing. Trusty is unavailable as he serves a one-match suspension after his dismissal against Hearts, leaving Celtic short of options at the back.
At full-back, Alistair Johnston remains on the sidelines with a hamstring issue and is not expected to feature until the beginning of March. Versatile midfielder Callum Osmand is also out with a comparable hamstring and soft-tissue problem, with a similar early-March return date anticipated.
Further back, Cameron Carter-Vickers is facing a lengthy spell out with an Achilles tendon injury and is effectively ruled out for the rest of the campaign. In attack, Jota is still working his way back from a muscle or ACL-related problem and continues his rehabilitation programme, leaving O’Neill without another key attacking option.
There are positives for Celtic going into the weekend, particularly in the form of Benjamin Nygren. The midfielder has been outstanding this season and grabbed his 14th goal of the campaign in the 4-2 win over Utrecht, opening the scoring after just six minutes and once again underlining his influence in the final third.
January loan arrival Tomas Cvancara, who featured in the draw at Hearts, is in contention to be involved again after making his mark on debut. Between the posts, Kasper Schmeichel is expected to retain his place after producing several important stops in that Tynecastle stalemate.
Celtic predicted lineup
Possible Celtic starting XI: Schmeichel; Araujo, Murray, Scales, Tierney; Engels, McGregor, Nygren; Hyun-Jun, Cvancara, Maeda
When will the match kick off?
The match will kick off at 3pm BST on Sunday, 1st February.
How to watch Celtic vs Falkirk?
For fans in the United Kingdom, the game will be available to watch live on Sky Sports.
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