Celtic vs St. Mirren Prediction: Hosts expected to pull off dominant performance here

Celtic's pursuit of retaining their Scottish Premiership title carries on this Saturday as they welcome fifth-placed St Mirren in the last match before the division splits. Despite both teams securing spots in the top half, there remains much at stake in the overall season.

Heading into this match, Celtic sits atop the table with 75 points, while St. Mirren occupies the fifth position with 43 points. With Rangers not playing until Sunday, Celtic has the opportunity to extend their lead to four points with a victory. However, having played one more game before their Saturday clash could potentially put Celtic at a disadvantage in the title race. But for now, their focus is on securing a fifth consecutive unbeaten game.

Celtic squandered a prime opportunity to widen the gap against Rangers in their previous encounter, settling for a 3-3 draw. Despite initially leading 2-0, they allowed Rangers to equalize, then took the lead again, only to concede in stoppage time. Nonetheless, Celtic can draw encouragement from the fact that they performed better overall in that match. Additionally, their ability to score three goals against Rangers shouldn't be overlooked.

However, Celtic's defensive capabilities need improvement, as evidenced by their recent matches. While they have scored three or more goals in six of their last seven games, they've managed just one clean sheet in their last eight outings.

St. Mirren continues their quest for their first victory over Celtic since their 2-0 triumph in 2022. However, they've fallen short in their last seven encounters, losing six of them. The visiting team enters this match after three winless outings and has only managed two wins in their last eight matches. In their recent game against Hearts, Toyosi Olusanya scored their consolation goal in a 2-1 loss, extending St. Mirren's streak without a clean sheet to five matches. Moreover, they've conceded more than one goal in two of their last three matches. Despite their defensive struggles, St. Mirren has found the net in each of their last six matches, including against Celtic in four of their last six encounters, although they failed to secure a win in any of those matches.

Facing Celtic away from home won't be an easy task for St. Mirren, even with their recent scoring form. Their away record hasn't been impressive, with just two wins in their last 14 away matches. In those 14 matches, they've suffered nine defeats.

Celtic will enter this match as the favorites, and anything less than a victory could have significant consequences. They'll be eager to gain an edge before Rangers' game, so we can expect them to adopt an attacking approach. However, as has been the case in their recent matches, this might create opportunities for St. Mirren to capitalize on. Consequently, both teams scoring is a strong possibility.

Given Celtic's historical dominance in this fixture, they should have the upper hand. I'm confident that Celtic will emerge victorious in what promises to be a high-scoring encounter.