Caley Thistle face the first of a Celtic double header when they welcome Ronny Deila’s men to Inverness tomorrow afternoon.
John Hughes’ men will be desperate to gain the upper hand ahead of the two teams meeting at Hampden in the Scottish Cup semi final, however, it is the Hoops who go into the match as the form team.
Caley Thistle team news
- Inverness boss John Hughes has no fresh injury worries.
- Long-term absentee Richie Foran (knee) remains on the sidelines.
Celtic team news
- Skipper Scott Brown returns to the Celtic squad after suspension forced him to miss his side’s 2-0 win over Partick Thistle on Wednesday.
- Midfielder Charlie Mulgrew (hamstring tendon) and right-back Mikael Lustig (ankle) are still out.
Caley Thistle boss John Hughes says
“We need to go and express ourselves. We can’t be shrinking violets.
“It is easy talking and then as soon as the curtain opens, at kick-off, we forget to play and we freeze.
“And they are not going to let us play. You have to earn the right to play, to get on the ball and take the game to Celtic.
“There is no excuse for not being as fit, as quick and as strong as them and you need to have that belief when you look at your opponent right in the eye because that is what it comes down to.
“That you are going to get the better of him and if you have more of your players getting the better of them then you have a right chance of winning the game.
“So hopefully that will be the case.”
Current form
- Caley Thistle have failed to win in their last six league matches, with three draws and three defeats
- Celtic are unbeaten in six matches, with five wins and a draw
Caley Thistle provisional squad
Esson, Raven, Shinnie, Warren, Meekings, Tremarco, Ross, Draper, Polworth, Christie, Williams, Tansey, Devine, Doran, Vincent, Ofere, Kink, Horner, Sutherland, Brill.
Celtic provisional squad
Gordon, Denayer, Matthews, Izaguirre, Ambrose, Van Dijk, Tonev, Brown, Bitton, Armstrong, Mackay-Steven, Johansen, Forrest, Commons, Scepovic, McGregor, Wakaso, Griffiths, Guidetti, Fisher, Zaluska.