Pat Bonner
Former Celtic goalkeeper on BBC Sportsound

Celtic bossing possession now. Callum McGregor is felled by a late challenge from Alan Power, giving the visitors a free-kick in a promising area. But Ryan Christie floats it harmlessly into the arms of Daniel Bachmann, who comes out to claim it confidently.

Gary Holt
Livingston manager on BBC Radio Scotland

Celtic starting to find their rhythm. Callum McGregor threads a pass in to Ryan Christie, who in turn slips it on to Odsonne Edouard.

The striker gets another shot away, but Killie keeper Daniel Bachmann is equal to it.

Image source, SNS

Pat Bonner
Former Celtic goalkeeper on BBC Sportsound

First chance of the game falls to the visitors. James Forrest finds Odsonne Edouard in the box, and the French striker turns and fires left-footed just wide of the right post.

Pat Bonner
Former Celtic goalkeeper on BBC Sportsound

Decent movement from Conor McAleny for Kilmarnock, who looks up and threads a ball through for Eamonn Brophy, who gets a shot away that Scott Bain palms away. But the Killie striker is offside.

Gary Holt
Livingston manager on BBC Radio Scotland

Celtic trying to get their passing game going, but Kilmarnock are hustling the champions and forcing them to surrender possession.

Pat Bonner
Former Celtic goalkeeper on BBC Sportsound

Celtic, wearing their luminous yellow away kit, are playing with the sun in their eyes in this first half.

They appear to have set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with the hosts adopting a more conventional 4-4-2 system.

The teams are out on the pitch, it's a glorious Ayrshire afternoon, and we're off..

Just a few minutes to kick-off at Rugby Park.

Remember you can listen to live BBC Scotland commentary, with Celtic legend Pat Bonner joining Liam McLeod to give his expert analysis, by clicking on the link above, or tuning your wireless to 810 MW or 92-95 FM.

Steve Clarke also told Sportsound that he is "looking forward to seeing what Eamonn Brophy and Conor McAleny can do together" after pairing them together up front today.

McAleny, who arrived from Fleetwood Town last month, plays his third game for Killie today, having scored on his debut against Dundee.

Clarke, who steered Kilmarnock from bottom place to a fifth-placed finish after his arrival last season, confirmed that "back to back top six finishes is the next objective".

"If we can secure a top-six spot early, it gives us a bit of time to build again for next season," Clarke added. "if you know you are going to get a bit more money, then you can invest it wisely in the squad."

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Kilmarnock have already beaten Celtic at Rugby Park this season, 2-1 back in September, and another victory today would lift Steve Clarke's team above Aberdeen into third place, three points behind Rangers and eight behind Celtic.

They also have the small matter of a Scottish Cup fifth-round replay against Rangers at Ibrox on Wednesday to consider.

"It's a big week, but these are the weeks you are in football for," Clarke tells BBC Scotland before kick-off. "If my players are not excited about these games, they will never be excited about anything in football.

"I've a lot of respect for Celtic; they are the benchmark for Scottish teams. I think we have closed the gap a little bit and if we can continue to do that, then the league will stay competitive."

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Brendan Rodgers alluded there (15:20 entry) to the "physical and mental exertions" of playing a team like Valencia in the Europa League on a Thursday night, and then re-setting for a testing domestic game on a Sunday.

Our man Stefan Bienkowski has been delving into the data, and his analysis suggests there is a slight drop-off in results.

Read the rest of Stefan's piece here.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has been explaining the reasons behind his team changes to BBC Radio Scotland.

"When I've come here before, we've made changes because of European competitions," he said. "We felt today we only wanted to make minimal changes and some are enforced.

"Jozo Simunovic's knee won't hold up to the artificial pitch. Emilio Izaguirre has a swollen ankle which would only be made worse. And Oliver Burke has played a lot of games and been fantastic, but we want to bring Odsonne Edouard into the game when it's compact and he's very good in tight spaces.

"There's always the physical and mental exertions of a game of that level - it's a big step up on how you operate domestically. But it's irrelevant. We'll play against a team that have prepared all week and we've got to come out here and show that resilience and quality."

Image source, SNS

Brendan Rodgers makes three changes to the Celtic team that slumped to defeat by Valencia in the Europa League on Thursday.

Jonny Hayes, nominally a winger, starts at left-back with Emilio Izaguirre out with an ankle issue and Kieran Tierney still sidelined.

Kristoffer Ajer replaces Jozo Simunovic in central defence.

And Oliver Burke is among the substitutes, with Odsonne Edouard leading the line.

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Fit-again Eamonn Brophy makes his first appearance for Kilmarnock since 26 January.

Having recovered from a knee injury, the striker will look to add to his 10-goal haul for the season. He scored Killie's only goal in their 5-1 thrashing by the champions in December.

Youssouf Mulumbu drops out of the home squad, since the on-loan midfielder cannot play against his parent club.

Image source, SNS