Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic take on fourth-placed Dundee United at Celtic Park on Wednesday night. 

The hosts boast a four-point lead at the top of the standings, while the visitors have a three-point gap over the bottom half of the table.

Match preview

Celtic's Scottish Premiership title defence continued with another victory at the weekend, with Martin O'Neill's side retaining their four-point lead over Rangers thanks to a 2-1 win against Hibernian. 

That victory marked Celtic's ninth in 10 league fixtures, with the exception being a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to their Old Firm rivals on September 20. 

While Celtic have remained consistent in the Scottish Premiership, demonstrated by boasting the most prolific attack (25 goals scored) and strongest defence (six goals conceded), O'Neill's team have been enduring a rough patch across all competitions in recent weeks. 

A 3-0 defeat against Rangers in the Scottish League Cup sparked the beginning of a turbulent run for Celtic, featuring five defeats and three wins in their last eight games across all competitions. 

All three triumphs have come in the Scottish Premiership, while defeats have seen the Bhoys eliminated from the League Cup and suffer three straight defeats in the Europa League, leaving them 35th in the 36-team league phase table. 

Those results have seen the pressure steadily rise on O'Neill's role at the club, but another victory in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday will help in gradually easing the scrutiny. 

The Bhoys will remain confident given their impressive start to the Scottish Premiership season and record of four wins and one defeat at Celtic Park, while they have also won all of the last five clashes with Dundee United at their home ground. 

Dundee United do, however, head into this encounter enjoying a superb five-game unbeaten run in the league, featuring three victories and two draws, meaning they will be full of belief as they travel to Celtic Park.

The Tangerines' recent form marks a considerable improvement from their sluggish start to the season, which saw Jim Goodwin's men lose three, draw one and win one of their opening five league fixtures.

After failing to score in three of those first five matches, Dundee United's upturn in form has coincided with an increase in attacking output, with the Tangerines having scored nine goals in their last five.

Goodwin's team are also the third-best performing side on the road in the league this term, accumulating seven points from their five away fixtures, including two wins and one draw in their last four.

Despite Dundee United's miserable record at Celtic Park, the Tangerines will look back to two victories over Celtic last season, beating the champions 2-1 and 2-0 at Tannadice Park.

Celtic Scottish Premiership form:

Celtic form (all competitions):

Dundee United Scottish Premiership form:

Team News

Yang Hyun-Jun is ruled out of this match due to a hamstring injury, while Alistair Johnston is a doubt following his forced substitution due to injury after just 21 minutes of action against Hibernian. 

As a result, Colby Donovan should retain his place at right-back, while Dane Murray, Liam Scales and Kieran Tierney should all also start again in defence for Celtic. 

Further forward, Camilo Duran scored his sixth league goal in 10 matches, and the forward will maintain his position alongside Benjamin Nygren, Callum Osmand and Kasper Hogh.

Meanwhile, Dundee United are set to be without William Ferry, Mehdi Merghem and Emmanuel Agyei due to ongoing injury issues. 

Dylan Tait scored one and assisted two of Dundee United's three goals in their 3-2 victory at the weekend, and the midfielder will continue alongside Lyall Cameron and Zidane Iqbal in the middle of the park. 

In attack, Zachary Sapsford scored the winner and should retain his place alongside Jesse Randall and Daniel Bennie in attack.

Celtic possible starting lineup:

Johnstone; Donovan, Murray, Scales, Tierney; McGregor, Baur; Duran, Nygren, Osmand; Hogh

Dundee United possible starting lineup:

Walton; Rawlins, Esselink, Forbes, Ciubotaru; Cameron, Tait, Iqbal; Randall, Sapsford, Bennie

We say: Celtic 2-1 Dundee United

Despite Dundee United's unbeaten run and Celtic's inconsistent patch, the Bhoys remain formidable in the Scottish Premiership and have a fantastic record in this fixture at Celtic Park, leading us to expect a home triumph.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.