Preview: Hibernian vs. Celtic - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors' lead over title rivals Rangers was cut to three points in a stalemate with Aberdeen, while their hosts now sit seventh in the midst of a tough run of form.

Match preview

Hibernian return to action at Easter Road on Wednesday aiming to arrest a concerning run of form and climb back into the top half of the Scottish Premiership table, having dropped to seventh spot.

Following a disappointing start to the season, the Edinburgh outfit did look to have turned a corner as they moved onto 24 points from 17 games with four wins in a five-match span culminating in early December, but they have been unable to build on that since, failing to add another notch to their wins column in the last six attempts.

Across those matches, Nick Montgomery's side have added just two points to their tally, firstly ending 2023 with 1-0 defeats to St Johnstone and rivals Hearts, before kicking off the New Year with a 2-2 draw against Motherwell and suffering a 3-0 beating at the hands of Rangers.

The Hibees were then able to come from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 away at Kilmarnock thanks to goals from Joe Newell and Myziane Maolida, but they again failed to build on that in their most recent outing at home to St Mirren on Saturday, falling to another 3-0 defeat on home turf as Alex Gogic, Greg Kiltie and Mikael Mandron all found the net in the first half.

With pressure now growing around the club, Hibernian will be desperate to regain a top-six spot and end their current rut and dismal home form on Wednesday, but they face a particularly difficult task in their bid to do so.

Indeed, the defending champions will visit Easter Road with the aim of strengthening their position at the top of the division after a rare setback last time out.

In their bid to win a third straight Scottish Premiership title this term, the Glasgow giants have enjoyed a characteristically formidable start, amassing 58 points from their first 24 games and holding top spot for almost the entirety of the campaign thus far.

After seeing their lead cut over rivals Rangers in the race for the title by consecutive defeats in December, Brendan Rodgers's side bounced back in impressive fashion with five victories on the bounce around the turn of the year, beating Livingston, Dundee, Rangers, St Mirren and Ross County, before travelling to take on an out-of-sorts Aberdeen side on Saturday in their bid to make that six in a row.

It was the hosts who took the lead through Bojan Miovski in the 50th minute of that game, and Nicolas Kuhn drew the Bhoys level on the hour mark, they were unable to find a winning goal, instead having to return to Glasgow with a share of the spoils.

As a result of that slip-up, and with Rangers having picked up a fourth straight win on Saturday, Celtic now sit just three points clear at the top of the table having played a game more than their rivals, and they will be desperate to maintain a slender lead with a swift return to winning ways on Wednesday.

Hibernian Scottish Premiership form:

L

L

D

L

D

L

Hibernian form (all competitions):

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D

W

L

D

L

Celtic Scottish Premiership form:

W

W

W

W

W

D

Celtic form (all competitions):

W

W

W

W

W

D

Team News

Hibernian will remain without midfielders Josh Campbell and Jake Doyle-Hayes on Wednesday, with the duo sidelined by injuries, while veteran defender Paul Hanlon may again miss out after being absent for their defeat to St Mirren last time out, and winger Martin Boyle may not be ready to come back in from the start having only recently seen his Asian Cup campaign with Australia come to an end.

Nick Montgomery may opt to make several changes after their 3-0 loss in that game, with Dylan Vente likely to come in and lead the line from the start, allowing Elie Youan to drop back to the right-hand side and join January arrivals Emiliano Marcondes and Myziane Maolida in a supporting trio in their 4-2-3-1 shape.

Behind them, Dylan Levitt and Joe Newell should again partner up in the engine room, while Sunderland loanee Nectarios Triantis will hope to again join Will Fish in the middle of the back four after earning his Hibs debut at the weekend.

Celtic continue to deal with several injury issues of their own, with defenders Cameron Carter-Vickers and Greg Taylor remaining sidelined alongside midfielder James McCarthy, while Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda are unlikely to come in from the outset following Japan's departure from the Asian Cup on Saturday.

Instead, Paulo Bernardo, Callum McGregor and star man Matt O'Riley should line up in an unchanged midfield trio, while Stephen Welsh should come back in to join Liam Scales at the heart of the defence from the outset.

At the other end of the pitch, the line should again be led by Kyogo Furuhashi, who has notched up 11 goals so far this term, while Liel Abada and Luis Palma will hope to keep their places on the wings in a front three despite competition from new arrivals Adam Idah and Nicolas Kuhn, who netted their equaliser in his second substitute appearance for the club against Aberdeen last time out.

Hibernian possible starting lineup:

Marshall; Megwa, Fish, Triantis, Obita; Newell, Levitt; Youan, Marcondes, Maolida; Vente

Celtic possible starting lineup:

Hart; Johnston, Scales, Welsh, Ralston; Bernardo, O'Riley, McGregor; Abada, Furuhashi, Kuhn

We say: Hibernian 0-2 Celtic

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