Celtic

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The two form sides in Scotland meet in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals on Sunday as Celtic host resurgent Hibs.

Treble-chasing Celtic are cruising towards another league title and have already secured the League Cup, while Hibs are unbeaten in 15 outings, including a 2-1 league win at home to Celtic last month.

With 7,000 supporters travelling from the capital to cheers Hibs on against the favourites and holders, it should be a captivating contest.

Neil Lennon is more qualified than most to judge the lie of the land pre-match, having managed both clubs. Here is his verdict:

'Dynamite Celtic's depth the strongest I've seen'

"Celtic are playing against the form team in the country, alongside themselves.

"The fact Rangers aren't in the competition now means that all the other clubs will be looking at an opportunity to get to the final. And obviously they'll want to see Celtic out of it because they've been so dominant.

"St Mirren on Saturday night created a lot of good chances, but Celtic are dynamite. The last half hour on Saturday was some of the best football I've seen from them this season.

"I thought they were magnificent going forward. In terms of the squad depth this season, it's as strong as I've seen it for a long, long time and certainly way above anything else in Scottish football.

"You look at the subs Brendan Rodgers brought on after an hour on Saturday evening - the quality and the speed and just the zest it brought to the team was fantastic to watch."

'Buzzing Hibs have real belief'

"They have had an unbelievable week - beating Celtic, beating Dundee United and winning the derby. The place is buzzing. It reminds me of my time there back in 2018.

"David Gray has got the crowd with him and the team are responding. They're well organised and there's a real belief about them.

"Celtic at home are imperious and it's going to be a tough ask at any stage of the season. But with the feelgood factor around Hibs at the minute, there has to be a quiet confidence that they can compete.

"But you've got to take your chances. Gray has got Martin Boyle playing really well at the minute and that's really important. For me, he's the best player when he's fit and firing.

"I think Nicky Cadden has been a revelation on the left-hand side as well. And I watched them against Celtic, I was at the game, I thought they were really impressive in their organisation. And they played the game perfectly, as good as you could against Celtic."

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Celtic forward Daizen Maeda has been named Scottish Premiership player of the month in recognition of his dazzling February form.

Maeda netted six times as runaway leaders Celtic racked up league wins over Motherwell (3-1), Dundee (6-0), Dundee United (3-0) and Aberdeen (5-1), while he had an equaliser controversially disallowed in the 2-1 defeat at Hibs.

The Japan international also added a Scottish Cup hat-trick against Raith Rovers and Champions League strike against Bayern Munich to take his overall February total to 10 goals.

"The team is doing well and because of that I can score the goals, so I'm really pleased for the team performances," Maeda, 27, told Celtic TV.

"It looks like I've had my best month but I'm just continuing to do what I'm used to doing. I always try to work hard and try to do my best in each game so all the games were very important for me."

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

With 10 goals in their past two games and a full week to prepare for a Scottish Cup quarter-final you sense Celtic will take some stopping on Sunday, even if they are playing arguably the form team in the country.

Hibs' rise up the table to third has been remarkable, given their first 14 Premiership matches yielded just the solitary victory.

No defeats in their past 15 games, however, and just one reverse (to Celtic) in 18 tells an altogether different story. There's been plenty of sunshine on Leith of late but is it about to start raining?

The problem for any visitors to Glasgow's east end is Celtic have been pretty much unbeatable at Parkhead. Only one team has managed it this season: Bayern Munich. No Scottish side has won there since Hearts in December 2023.

While Hibs have very recent experience of defeating Brendan Rodgers' men - and gave them all sorts of problems in the league win at Easter Road - you have to go back to January 2010 for the capital club's last victory in Celtic's back yard.

Gordon Brown was the UK Prime Minister; Fireflies by Owl City was number one in the charts, and Danny Galbraith scored a last-minute winner for John Hughes' Hibs in what turned out to be the final months of Tony Mowbray's short Celtic tenure.

With a potential treble on the line, there's even more at stake for Celtic this time. The cup holders have revenge on the mind and therein lies the problem for Hibs - they'll be facing a rested, motivated, hungry Celtic side that usually hits its straps around this time of the year.

Rodgers calls it the period in the season where his side comes alive. The title is all but done and dusted, of course, which just leaves just one path down which the champions-elect are likely to march with extra purpose: the road to Hampden.

Should Celtic's long unbeaten home record against Hibs still be intact on Sunday night, Rodgers can start planning another trip to the national stadium. He's yet to lose there as a manager.

Little wonder, then, that David Gray brings his resurgent side west trying to solve a stubbornly difficult puzzle: how do you beat Celtic in Glasgow?

Celtic are within three wins of a fourth successive Premiership title and have another treble firmly in their sights.

After an impressive Champions League campaign, the full focus is on the domestic run-in as Brendan Rodgers' side look to cement their dominance.

Everything looks rosy for Celtic but you know your club best, so tell us the one thing - good or bad - nobody us talking about at Parkhead.

Let us know., external

Celtic right-back Alistair Johnston has emerged as a shock transfer target for Serie A leaders Inter Milan. (InterLive via Scottish Sun)

Ben Doak's agent Jackie McNamara says the Scotland winger would have stayed at Celtic rather than move to Liverpool if ex-boss Ange Postecoglou had guaranteed him a place in his first team. (Scottish Sun)

Former Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi has been tipped for a quick exit from Rennes this summer after again being overlooked by his new manager Habib Beye. (Daily Record)

Read the rest of Wednesday's gossip.

Tino
Fan writer

As if Daizen Maeda's mesmeric form wasn't enough for Celtic fans, Yang Hyun-jun has now decided he wants to join the party.

And he's more than welcome!

The South Korean winger has had an indifferent time in Glasgow following his arrival in July 2023 from Gangwon FC in his homeland, but if recent evidence is anything to go by that's about to be flipped on its head.

His match-winning performance in Paisley on Saturday was the latest episode in the 22-year old's redemption story at Celtic, but in truth he's been quietly penning those chapters since the turn of the year.

Five goals and five assists in just 558 minutes played in 2025 tell us that on current form he's now providing a goal contribution every 55 minutes.

Pretty incredible for a player many fans had consigned to the ever-growing pile of ineffective signings from THAT failed transfer window of summer 2023.

But while it looks like there's no future in Glasgow for the likes of Gustaf Lagerbielke, Maik Nawrocki and fellow countryman Kwon Hyeok-kyu, Yang – who joined as the K League's young player of the year - seems determined to prove the club were right to offer him a five-year deal in the first place.

For a then 21-year-old to make the 9,000km move from South Korea to Scotland can't have been easy but now he seems far more at ease in his adopted homeland.

The key for the youngster is to maintain the consistency he has found recently, but there's no doubt he has the backing of the manager, and that in turn should give him the confidence to do so.

Brendan Rodgers deserves a great deal of credit for sticking by a player who has looked shorn of belief in large spells this season. The manager persevered and is now seeing the benefits.

The majority of the credit must go to the player himself. He has never shied away from the challenges of breaking into a side with talents such as Nicolas Kuhn, James Forrest, Maeda and now Jota occupying the wide areas.

Crucially he also has the backing of his team-mates and that could be seen clearly in how they celebrated with him on Saturday night.

Speaking after Yang's 26-minute man-of-the-match display against St Mirren, Arne Engels said: "It was just unbelievable. I'm really happy for him. Yang is always training at 100%. A really amazing performance from him."

The key, however, at Celtic isn't what you did in the last game, it's what you'll do in the next one, and that now means Sunday's Scottish Cup quarter-final with Hibs.

If Yang can add to those 10 goal contributions this weekend, and follow it up against Rangers the following week, we may well be looking at the latest rising star in this increasingly exciting team that Rodgers is building.

Tino can be found at The Celtic Exchange, external

Celtic are keeping close tabs on Motherwell midfielder Lennon Miller, 18. (Record), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish gossip

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Adam Idah is relishing the chance to return to Cork this summer to play against the club he has supported from childhood.

Celtic will head to Ireland in the summer to face Idah's boyhood favourites Cork City in a friendly.

"I haven't played in Cork since I was 15 and didn't think I'd ever come back and play here," the striker said.

"So to come back in the summer is going to be brilliant.

"It will be amazing. There's obviously a massive Celtic fan base in Cork so it'll be like a home game.

"It'll be really cool to have the Cork fans and the Celtic fans. It'll be a bit of a strange one because I think everyone will be supporting both sides. But it'll be a fantastic day.

"I still support Cork City, they were obviously my team growing up, so it's exciting."

Before then, Celtic have domestic business to attend to with a Scottish Cup quarter-final against Hibs on the horizon.

And Idah has fond memories of the competition after he scored the winning goal in last season's final against Rangers.

"There's no doubt that Hibs are a fantastic team," Idah added.

"They've won so many games now and they're a really good side. The game now coming up will be an exciting one and we are ready for it.

"I'm really looking forward to it. How it ended last season was probably one of the best moments I've had in my career. It's an exciting one for me."

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Celtic, eventually, came out on top in Saturday's seven-goal thriller against St Mirren to roar 16 points clear at the summit of the Scottish Premiership.

Brendan Rodgers' squad showed their class and I have three of his stars in my team of the week.

It was a supreme display from Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate. He showed his class and provided a simply stunning assist for Yang Hyun-Jun's opener.

Speaking of Yang, the super sub makes my team too. Talk about impact. Two goals and an assist off the bench for Yang Hyun-Jun, has him in my team.

Daizen Maeda has to be player of the season. There was yet another goal for the outstanding Japan international who continually delivers the goods for his side, wherever he is deployed.

Kyogo Furuhashi, who left Celtic for Rennes in January, says he felt "depressed and frustrated" after being snubbed by Japan while playing for the Scottish champions. (Lemino Football via The National)

Read the rest of Monday's gossip.

Sportscene pundits Cammy Bell and Michael Stewart laud Daizen Maeda after another scoring performance for Celtic.

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Watch all the highlights from Celtic's 5-2 win at St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.

Available to UK users only.

We asked for your views on Celtic's 5-2 win against St Mirren.

Here's what some of you said:

Patrick: Relentless. St Mirren put in a real challenge and maybe deserved more but Celtic managed to find a win once again, and in the end it was a comfortable scoreline. Great to see Yang Hyun-jun grab a couple of goals, still need a bit more from Adam Idah, we know the talent is there but the consistency isn't.

Craig: The squad depth and quality proving to be the reason we're strolling the league. The small bit of business in the January window with Kyogo Furuhashi being sold is almost forgotten with Daizen Maeda on fire and Jota settled right back in. Brendan Rodgers proving why he's such a good coach.

David: St Mirren will feel hard done by with the result. They were terrific, played their hearts out and deserved better than the scoreline. They gave Celtic a go, but Celtic just got better as the game went on. The class of the Celtic squad is just so good. They deserved their five.

Paul: Another invaluable three points secured towards winning the league for a fourth consecutive season. Although St Mirren made it tough for Celtic, missing several opportunities to add to their tally, ultimately Celtic's strength in depth was the overriding difference in the end, and the increasingly improving Yang was worthy of the man of the match award.

Christopher: Celtic haven't been at their best the last two games, yet have still found a way to score 10 goals. This team lost its best striker in January and look like a better team for it? Incredible!

Hugh: It was a hard fought victory and tough on St Mirren as we were far from being at our best. The second-half substitutions made the difference but we never really got out of the starting blocks. We have certainly taken a step forward this season but at the same time too many of our opponents have regressed and this is hindering our progression.

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• Nicolas Kühn has assisted seven goals in the Premiership this season (one in this game), no player has more.

• Daizen Maeda has scored in his last three games in the Premiership (four goals in total).

• Yang Hyun-Jun has contributed to goals in his last three games in the Premiership (three goals, two assists).

• Daizen Maeda has contributed to goals in his last three games in the Premiership (four goals, 0 assists).

• Celtic have scored in 27 of their 29 games, more often than any other team in the Premiership this season.

• Celtic have scored in each of their last 10 games in the Premiership, scoring 35 goals in that run.

• St. Mirren have scored in their last three games in the Premiership, their longest run of games with a goal in the competition since a run of four games from 14 December 2024 to 29 December 2024.

• St. Mirren have scored in each of their last three games in the Premiership, scoring five goals in that run.

Celtic are now just three wins away from retaining the Scottish Premiership crown after seeing off St Mirren in a seven-goal classic in Paisley to extend their lead at the top of the table to 16 points.

If Brendan Rodgers' side win their next two league games against second-top Rangers and Heart of Midlothian, they will travel to Perth in the first week of April knowing a win over St Johnstone will wrap up a fourth consecutive title.

They were made to work extremely hard for their victory by a St Mirren side that refused to lie down and twice came back to equalise before a fine late double from from Yang Hyun-jun either side of an excellent goal from Daizen Maeda.

Japan forward Maeda now has 13 goals from his last dozen games, while South Korean winger Yang - whose fine assist set him up - looks a much-improved player, and his two-goal cameo may make it hard for his manager to leave him out of the starting XI.

Celtic fans, did you make the trip to Paisley or were you following the action from home? Either way we want your views on the game. Have your say., external

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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: "I think it's one of my favourite results of the season coming to St Mirren who have had some really good performances against other teams.

"It's a brilliant three points for us. I think our attacking paly was really strong. We were so good on a difficult surface, the players were technically very strong.

"We need to get the freshness back in our defending We have got a week before the cup game now which gives us a chance to recover that and get the freshness back.

"Yang's [Hyun-jun] girlfriend is here at the moment so he's in a great feeling. I said to her interpreter to try and make sure she stays. He's a young player, he's growing and developing which is why it's about more than just performances and results, it's about the development of young players.

"We have a big cup game next week but what we can do now is reset and build into that cup game. we've put so much work into the season, so much consistency and mentality. We have a lot of work to do but we're in a really good place.

"Callum [McGregor] had felt his calf. He should be fine but we don't want to take any risks with him.

"Auston [Trusty] got a bang in the head and had to get five stitches. He should recover but Liam Scales came in and did really well."

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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This was yet another good day at the office for the runaway league leaders, who nearly always find a way to get the job done.

In this case, with some style, as they just got better the longer the match went on.

It is not that often captain Callum McGregor will be taken off. Not a problem for his manager when Brendan Rodgers can replace him with the energy and skill of McCowan.

Jota and Yang Hyun-jun also added significant quality when they came on and made things even more difficult for a tiring St Mirren side who had put so much into the first hour of the match.

Jeffrey Schlupp will be delighted to have scored his first Celtic goal, while Arne Engels' impressive debut season in Scotland has now yielded 10 goals.

The champions-elect now have a full week to prepare for the visit of Hibernian in the Scottish Cup before welcoming Barry Ferguson's Rangers to Celtic Park on 16 March.

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A huge impact off the bench for the Celtic winger - two goals and an assist off the bench.