After dropping a couple of points against St Mirren in midweek, Celtic definitely need all three against St Johnstone if they are to keep up with the Rangers in the Scottish Premiership title race. Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side are already six points ahead of the Hoops in the league table, which is  significant gap considering how tight things have looked in recent times.

It is easier said than done though for Celtic, who are missing a number of their players through injury at this point of time.

Jota, David Turnbull, Albian Ajeti, Giorgos Giakoumakis, James Forrest, Christopher Jullien and Karamoko Dembele are all set to miss out vs St Johnstone on Boxing Day unless Ange Postecoglou springs a big surprise.

The injury statuses of Kyogo and Joe Hart are not clear as well. The Japanese star was not 100 per cent and was expected to miss the game against St Johnstone, but the Celtic goalkeeper’s absence did come as quite a surprise in midweek.

Celtic Predicted XI vs St Johnstone: Massive return?

Here’s how we think Ange Postecoglou will line Celtic up when they face St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership on Boxing Day:

Joe Hart

Joe Hart, Celtic. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Joe Hart has proven to be a brilliant summer signing for Celtic, as he has brought his career back on track and made the first-team gloves his own at Parkhead.

Thus, it was quite a surprise when he was not in the starting XI or on the bench against St Mirren, with Scott Bain between the posts.

The situation surrounding the Englishman is not clear at this point of time though. If it was a long-term injury, one would have expected to get an update on it by now, which provides hope that it was just a short-term issue for Hart and he will be back against St Johnstone.

This article was originally posted here