Celtic v Kilmarnock – Team news, referee details, KO time & where to watch

The Celtic Star

·17 Januari 2025

Celtic v Kilmarnock – Team news, referee details, KO time & where to watch

It’s the fourth round of the Scottish Cup and that means that the big guns, most notably the holders and the most successful club of all time in the famous old competition join the battle for the most famous silverware in Scottish football…

Nicolas Kuhn, photo Celtic FC

For Brendan Rodgers his 100% winning record will be tested by Derek McInnes at Celtic Park in the Saturday early evening kick-off which is live on Premier Sports. Celtic v Kilmarnock promises to be an interesting battle with the Killie boss looking to emulate his old sidekick Tony Docherty whose Dundee side gave both theRangers and Celtic frights in the past week or so and could easily have beaten both Glasgow giants.

Video OneFootball

But Brendan Rodgers always seems to find a way, especially in the Scottish Cup, and the Hoops manager will be confident that his side can set up a mini three game run at home across three competitions to advance Celtic’s season enormously.

Jack Butland after Adam Idah scored the winner for Celtic in the 2024 Scottish Cup Final against theRangers at Hampden. Photo Vagelis Georgariou for The Celtic Star

The Celtic support will relish these three ties with the competitive tie against Kilmarnock a perfect wam-up for for the match against Swiss Champions Young Boys which Chris Sutton in his newspaper column descried this morning as Celtic’s World Cup Final.

Celtic Team News

Callum McGregor. Photo Celtic FC

Brendan Rodgers told the media today (including The Celtic Star) that other than James Forrest he has a full squad to choose from. That means that Nicolas Kuhn came through his short spell of action from off the bench at Dens Park in midweek without mishap and crucially Dazien Maeda is ready to play.

Both these players will be needed on Wednesday night in the Champions League and Rodgers will hope that they warm up for that by putting Kiillie to the sword and out of the Scottish Cup on Saturday afternoon.

Predicted Team

Kasper Schmeichel will be in goals. The back four could be Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Liam Scales and Greg Taylor. The midfield three of Callum McGregor, Arne Engels and Luke McCowan should be enough to give Celtic the control needed while the front three we reckon will be Daizen Maeda, Kyogo and Nicolas Kuhn.

Celtic Manager’s View

The Celtic Star asked Brendan Rodgers if he thought Killie would play a low block by parking the bus and defending their box or take inspiration from the Dundee tactics in the second half on Tuesday evening and have a go at Celtic. Here’s what the manager said in response.

Liam Scales. Photo Celtic FC

“It just depends. I think that probably the second half at Dundee, they gave a little bit more pressure. If I’m looking at the game and being critical of us, we needed to play with a little bit more poise in our game and play through that, which we’ve done hundreds and hundreds of times, but we didn’t do that. I think there’s always going to be moments of pressure. You have to feel in the game. So, whether that’s at the beginning of the game, where a team will feel they can go for you and push, or whether they sit off or maybe behind in the game, and then they feel they want to give everything to it. So, I think whenever it comes, it’ll come at some point.It’s whether it’s at the beginning, middle or at the end of the game. But we have to be ready for that to manage our way through that.”

Match Officials

Thanks to Conor Spence for assisting with compiling this section.

22 October 2022. Referee Nick Walsh signals a penalty to hearts after consulting var during the cinch Premiership match at Tynecastle. Photo Neil Hanna / Sportimage

Nick Walsh has been appointed as the referee for Saturday evening’s fourth round Scottish Cup tie between Celtic and Kilmarnock at Paradise. The 34 year-old experienced whistler has only taken charge of two Celtic games this season which included the last time Brendan Rodgers and Derek McInnes faced off against each other back in early November.

The Hoops were 2-0 winners at Rugby Park courtesy of skipper Callum McGregor and Nicolas Kuhn, but the hosts were more than a match for the Scottish champions who were helped on the day by an excellent goalkeeping display from Kasper Schmeichel.

The Great Dane spoke to The Celtic Star this afternoon ahead of Rodgers’ men kickstarting their defence of the Scottish Cup trophy tomorrow night.

Meanwhile, Walsh was also the man in the middle for Celtic’s 2-2 draw with Aberdeen in October where the Dons came from two down to salvage a rare point in Glasgow’s East End. Joining the on-field referee are AR1 Graeme Stewart and AR2 Calum Spence.

Manning VAR duties at Clydesdale House is Steven McLean with Gary Hilland taking the role as Assistant VAR.

Kick-off Time and Where to Watch

A reminder that kick-off tomorrow is 5:30pm and will be shown live on Premier Sports. For Celtic supporters outside Britain and Ireland, Celtic TV will be providing coverage of the game for subscribers.

Celtic get their Scottish Cup defence underway on Saturday (January 18) against Kilmarnock at Celtic Park. It’s actually the first meeting between the clubs in the Scottish Cup in 15 years, as Celtic look to make it three Scottish Cup successes in a row.

For subscribers to Celtic TV based outside of Britain or Ireland you can tune in from 5:15pm (CPT) for live coverage, with Daylin Docherty and Simon Donnelly bringing you all the action from the Celtic Park commentary position.

Celtic TV will hear from Brendan Rodgers, who will speak to John Ledwith in the tunnel sharing all the latest team news ahead of the game. At half-time, enjoy a look back to some classic Scottish Cup ties with Kilmarnock over the years.

The match will be available to watch live on Celtic TV for all our subscribers outside the UK and Ireland, with live audio commentary provided for UK and Ireland-based subscribers. The game will also be available on-demand after full-time, so you won’t miss a minute (UK and Ireland subscribers can access it from midnight CPT).

Predicted Score

Brendan will be looking at getting the job done the n conserving as much energy as possible for that ‘World Cup Final’ on Wednesday night. The Celtic manager would be more than satisfied with a 2-0 victory against Kilmarnock as Celtic gets on the road to Hampden.

Fifth Round Draw Details

The Scottish Cup fifth round draw will be made on Monday, January 20, 2025 and will take place after the conclusion of the Dundee Derby at Dens Park. The draw will be broadcast live on Premier Sports 1 following the Dundee derby, expected sometime around 10-1030pm. The last 16 ties take place on the weekend of Saturday, 8 February, 2025. Let’s hope Celtic are in the hat!

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