Celtic travel to Rugby Park on Sunday looking to make it two wins from two at the start of their Scottish Premiership title defence.

Martin O’Neill’s side opened the campaign with a narrow 1-0 victory over Dundee and will now face a Kilmarnock team searching for their first points after an extraordinary 4-3 defeat to St Johnstone. The hosts have caused Celtic problems at Rugby Park in the past, but the recent head-to-head record is firmly in the champions’ favour.

Can Kilmarnock recover from seven-goal setback?

Kilmarnock’s opening weekend certainly provided entertainment, but Neil McCann will have been far less impressed by the defensive side of his team’s performance.

Killie scored three times against newly-promoted St Johnstone and still came away empty-handed, conceding an 80th-minute winner in a 4-3 defeat. Tightening up at the back will therefore be the immediate priority before facing considerably stronger opposition on Sunday.

There had been plenty of encouragement before that setback. Kilmarnock finished last season with four consecutive victories to pull themselves away from relegation danger, and they carried much of that momentum through pre-season and into the League Cup group stage.

Their final group fixture against Peterhead halted that run, however, before the defeat to St Johnstone added to the frustration.

McCann may respond with changes. Tyreece John-Jules is a doubt after being forced off in the league opener, potentially creating an opportunity for Joe Hugill alongside Ieuan Owen. Jamie Brandon, Bailey Rice and Mark O’Hara are also pushing for starting places after the defensive problems evident last weekend.

Home advantage gives Kilmarnock some encouragement, but producing another open contest against Celtic would be an extremely dangerous strategy.

Celtic looking for a more clinical performance

Celtic collected the result they wanted against Dundee without producing the emphatic opening-day performance supporters might have expected.

Benjamin Nygren scored the only goal at Celtic Park, although the champions created enough opportunities to make the final score far more comfortable. Club-record signing Kasper Hogh was particularly wasteful on his debut, but O’Neill is unlikely to lose patience with his new striker after one appearance.

The victory was nevertheless important after an unconvincing pre-season in which Celtic failed to win any of their four friendlies.

Having claimed a fifth successive Premiership title in dramatic fashion last season, Celtic remain the team everyone else has to catch. Their recent dominance of this fixture strengthens the argument for another victory, with the Bhoys heading to Rugby Park having beaten Kilmarnock in eight consecutive meetings.

Liam Scales remains unavailable through suspension and Jota is continuing his recovery from a serious knee injury, but O’Neill still has considerable attacking quality at his disposal.

Hogh should retain his place through the middle, with Nygren, Yang Hyun-Jun and Camilo Duran providing support. If Celtic can combine the chance creation shown against Dundee with greater efficiency in front of goal, Kilmarnock could face a difficult afternoon.

Verdict

Kilmarnock showed enough attacking threat against St Johnstone to suggest they can cause opponents problems, but conceding four goals to a newly-promoted side is hardly ideal preparation for a meeting with the champions.

Celtic were not particularly clinical on the opening weekend, yet they still controlled enough of the game to start with three points. Their superior quality and excellent recent record against Killie should tell at Rugby Park, particularly if the hosts leave the same spaces they did last weekend.

Tip

Celtic to win.