Kilmarnock vs Celtic LIVE! Latest updates from the huge Premiership showdown at Rugby Park

Plastic is no longer fantastic in Ayrshire and a lush green surface awaits us for a Sunday cracker

Teams have been paying the price of coming up against Kilmarnock on their plastic pitch for years.

But Neil McCann and Co are utterly convinced his side will thrive on their brand-spanking new grass pitch.

It looks the part and Celtic will be the first side to experience it in Sunday's Premiership clash – one of four games on a Super Sunday.

The champions have had an eventful week with everyone's best wish with boss Martin O'Neill after he spent time in hospital. Celtic No.2 Shaun Maloney insists his side will be ready after their 1-0 win over Dundee on Monday night.

McCann always sees the upside in his team, however, he was left smarting by the four goals his side shipped in their pulsating seven-goal defeat to St Johnstone on the opening day.

Celtic's £17m strike duo Camilo Duran and Kasper Hogh will be itching to get off the mark with both flashing glimpses of their undoubted talents in the flag day win.

Kilmarnock Stryjek, Brandon, Stanger, Yfeko, Schjonning- Larsen, Lowery, Tshibola, Ring, Kiltie, John-Jules, Hugill Subs: Ferrie, O'Hara, McKenzie, Clescenco, Thomson, Schilte-Brown, Owen, Bowie, Rice

Celtic: Sinisalo, Johnston, Trusty, Carter-Vickers, Tierney, Engels, McGregor, Nygren, Yang, Hogh, Duran Subs: Doohan, McCowan, Tounekti, Osmand, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Hatate, Murray, Forrest, Donovan

Join us LIVE for all the team news and build-up from Rugby Park.

Key Events

A reminder of the teams

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Killie team to face Celtic

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Celtic team to face Kilmarnock

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A natural justice could await Nic

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O'Neill on the mend

Shaun Maloney has revealed Martin O'Neill visited the Celtic team hotel with words of wisdom before Sunday's clash with Kilmarnock.

But the game has come too early for the 74-year-old to return to the dugout.

He's good, he's definitely improving. He just needs a few more days to recover. Where he comes into his own is on matchday so we'll definitely miss him. We'll do our best to make it as good a level for the guys as it is under Martin.

A reminder of the teams

Kilmarnock Stryjek, Brandon, Stanger, Yfeko, Schjonning- Larsen, Lowery, Tshibola, Ring, Kiltie, John-Jules, Hugill Subs: Ferrie, O'Hara, McKenzie, Clescenco, Thomson, Schilte-Brown, Owen, Bowie, Rice

Celtic: Sinisalo, Johnston, Trusty, Carter-Vickers, Tierney, Engels, McGregor, Nygren, Yang, Hogh, Duran Subs: Doohan, McCowan, Tounekti, Osmand, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Hatate, Murray, Forrest, Donovan

100 not out for Engels?

We'll soon find out!

West Ham want the Belgian but no deal has been struck yet.

The midfielder is in the starting XI today.

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McGeady on O'Neill's absence

Aiden McGeady reckons the same old Celtic will take on Kilmarnock despite the manager being absent.

The former Parkhead star - speaking on Sky – laid out how things will play out at Rugby Park.

It's understandable that there will be a little bit of disruption to the planning, but I think we all know that Shaun, Stephen [McManus] and Mark Fotheringham do a lot of the work behind the scenes. They take training on a day-to-day basis. Martin's always been a hands-off manager when it comes to training. He turns up on a match day and he talks before the game and gets everyone going. I don't think there will be too much confusion today. They players will know exactly what they've got to do.

Latest odds

No Martin O'Neill? No problem.

talkSPORT Bet make the Hoops heavy favourites.

Kilmarnock 13/2

Draw 17/4

Celtic 4/11

Say cheese...

Could this be the last time Celtic fans see Arne Engels wearing the Hoops?

The Belgian midfielder has been linked with a host of clubs, with West Ham said to be leading the chase.

The 23-year-old showed no signs of any transfer window pressure as he posed for photos ahead of kick-off at Rugby Park.

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Grass is greener for Hogh

Record Sport's Michael Gannon is at Rugby Park this afternoon and shared his thoughts before travelling down the M77.

Kasper Hogh's throwaway comment in his post-match interview after the Dundee opener was a bit of an eye-opener. The big Dane admitted he’s going to have to get used to playing on grass again following his move from Bodo/Glimt. Maybe he had a point. And maybe that’s why there’s this so-called Bodo curse – where former stars can’t cut it when they leave the Arctic Circle.Celtic want to dodge any hoodoo with Hogh but the early signs are he’ll be just fine despite fluffing a few sitters against Dundee. He might be the only man gutted that Kilmarnock ripped up their plastic pitch, mind you. There won’t be many of his team-mates shedding tears over the artificial surface going at Rugby Park. This is a venue where Celts have enjoyed some wild celebrations – but usually after a ton of stress. There have been more than a few dodgy results down there too. In the 12 non-grass years in Ayrshire, Celtic failed to win in six out of 19 visits. It’s not a horrendous record in the grand scheme, but it’s more slip ups than on most trips beyond Parkhead. It took the Hoops two stoppage-time winners last term but Brendan Rodgers lost in the Premiership and League Cup a couple of seasons ago, two defeats in 2018 and a couple of draws in 2015 and 2020. There’s been the occasional scudding dished out – like the 5-0 title clincher in 2025 – but it’s usually been like a school hols day out with the kids – fun but relief when it’s all over. But now that the grass is back, it should be a stroll. Not quite. The plastic was only a small part of the problem against Kilmarnock over the years. Mostly it was because the Rugby Park club has a top owner in Billy Bowie, who has appointed top managers who have signed good players and built good teams. They’ve got another good manager now in Neil McCann and, while he could do with replacing some of the quality that left over the summer, he will make them just as tough a prospect on grass, plastic or red ash. Celtic shouldn’t assume that because the 3G, 4G or xG – or whatever those surfaces are called – is gone, they will be in for a cruise. Especially after another summer spent window shopping while the trolley lies half empty. The team can’t dither on Sunday either. Celtic could be five points ahead of Rangers by the time their old chums kick-off against Hibs at Ibrox later in the afternoon. It might only be August but that would be an early stress test for a Gers manager who also could be doing with another round of transfer supermarket sweep.

Scotland had a nice Ring to it

Erik Ring shared a dressing room with a few renowned big Bhoys back in Sweden.

Now he’s determined to follow the well-trodden path to success story in Scotland, starting by helping put one of them in their place on Sunday.

Neil McCann snapped up the winger from League One champions Lincoln City this summer, handing him Kilmarnock’s No.8 jersey.

Rugby Park is preparing to debut their new grass pitch and it’s his No.8 counterpart Benjamin Nygren who’s as likely as any Celt to rip it up.

The attacking duo were on the same side going back to Sweden Under-21 days while old Hoops favourite Mikael Lustig was Ring’s team-mate at AIK in Stockholm.

The Bhoys haven’t half made a big impression in green and white... now Ring’s got a two-year deal to do so in blue and white.

And he says front and centre of the pitch to move north of the border was the fact he’d be doing so on grass as Rugby Park’s 14 years on plastic ends at half past one on Sunday.

The 24-year-old, whose mum and dad headed to Scotland on Friday to see him play against the champions, said

I know a few guys who have played in Scotland. But the first time I spoke to Neil and Kilmarnock, it just felt right so I didn’t feel I needed to speak to more people. I know a few who have been in the league and who are in the league now. I played with Benjamin for the national ream, Amar Fatah who was at Dundee United was at AIK with me, Mikael Lustig. Lustig was the funniest guy ever, a top guy. We played a lot together at AIK. He was a help with his experience and he always wanted to win. He came to AIK after he was in Belgium and played for a couple of years, so we played a lot together. He shared some stories on how it is and hearing that back then gave me a good feeling about Scotland overall. I knew there was good quality and big teams here.

Seb Hass plenty to offer

Haissem Hassan is set to become Celtic’s latest marquee signing.

But wing rival Sebastian Tounekti insists he’s ready to battle the Egypt World Cup ace for a start. Hassan, 24, could check into Parkhead this week as Martin O’Neill closes in on one of his top transfer targets.

The flying right winger will add even more firepower to Celtic’s revamped £17million frontline after the arrivals of Champions League marksmen Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran. And with Jota edging closer to a long-awaited comeback after 16 months of injury hell, Celts could have a blockbuster attack that will strike fear into any defence in Scottish football.

Tounekti has, though, no intention of watching from the sidelines. The £5m signing from Hammarby IF endured an inconsistent debut season at Parkhead and failed to nail down a regular starting berth.

He registered just five goals and three assists and the Tunisian knows he’ll have to boost those numbers if he’s to move up the pecking order.

But the wide man is relishing the challenge and believes he’s ready to show what he’s made of. He said

We already have lots of players in the squad. I want to get into a rhythm. I know I can help the team to win games with goals and assists. I’m pretty sure I will do that. I’m feeling in great form and training well. Hopefully I can help the team as soon as possible. Maybe people forget that you don’t really know what kind of club you’re coming to. Of course, you know the history and how massive the club is. But you have to be here and feel it to really know the size of the club and the expectations. For me, last season had a lot of ups and downs. I got the feeling of the club and the meaning of the club. I’m really positive for the new season now and confident I have learned a lot and will do well this season.

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Killie team to face Celtic

An attacking line-up from Neil McCann

Kilmarnock Stryjek, Brandon, Stanger, Yfeko, Schjonning- Larsen, Lowery, Tshibola, Ring, Kiltie, John-Jules, Hugill

Subs: Ferrie, O'Hara, McKenzie, Clescenco, Thomson, Schilte-Brown, Owen, Bowie, Rice

No Martin O'Neill in the dugout

The clash has come too early for the 74-year-old after he spent time in hospital. Shaun Maloney will take charge today.

Celtic team to face Kilmarnock

The teams in and Kasper Hogh gets his wish - another shot on the grass.

Celtic: Sinisalo, Johnston, Trusty, Carter-Vickers, Tierney, Engels, McGregor, Nygren, Yang, Hogh, Duran

Subs: Doohan, McCowan, Tounekti, Osmand, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Hatate, Murray, Forrest, Donovan

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Kenny to stay with Celts

Johnny Kenny is ready to shun a move back to Bolton and fight for his Celtic future.

The Irish striker, 23, was farmed out on loan to the Trotters in January and scored six goals. But after firing the Wanderers into the play-offs, Kenny cruelly missed out on the Championship promotion-clinching win over Stockport at Wembley with a season-ending knee injury.

Kenny spent the bulk of pre-season recovering but after returning to full training, Shaun Maloney revealed the fringe man is set to stick around and battle it out with Kasper Hogh, Camilo Duran and Callum Osmand for a place up front.

Hoops assistant Maloney revealed Kenny held talks with boss Martin O’Neill earlier in the summer. He said: "At the moment, yeah. I think he spoke to Martin and he's staying. He's part of the squad. I think there was something online about the squad number, that was incorrect. So, yeah, Johnny's part of the squad. I'd say he's just about fit now. He hasn't been fit during pre-season. He's one of ours and he's fighting to get minutes on the pitch."

One player who won’t play any part for Celtic is Paulo Bernardo after the Portuguese outcast joined Gornik Zabrze on a season-long loan. The Polish side have the option to buy the midfielder next summer and Maloney admits Bernardo needed to kickstart his career elsewhere.

He said: “Paulo and Martin spoke. There was a loan offer for him in January and we really wanted him to stay. He’s a brilliant professional and a great player, but he needed to play games.

“Paulo and Martin came to the decision that if he wasn’t going to be a regular here, he should go and get games. “He is a great professional, a great guy and trains 100 per cent every day, even when he doesn’t make the squads. “We will see where he is at in 12 months’ time.”

Keep off the Grass

That's not normally the cry in these parts but the lush surface looks good on first impressions.

Can't watch the game?

You can keep up with all the action from Rugby Park right here on dailyrecord.co.uk! We'll be running a live blog with all the pre-match build-up and team news, and every kick of the ball once the clash gets underway. After the game, we'll have all the reaction from managers and players, as well as player ratings, talking points and a whole lot more.

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Ring my bell

Erik Ring shared a dressing room with a few renowned big Bhoys back in Sweden.

Now he’s determined to follow the well-trodden path to success story in Scotland, starting by helping put one of them in their place on Sunday.

Neil McCann snapped up the winger from League One champions Lincoln City this summer, handing him Kilmarnock’s No.8 jersey.

Rugby Park is preparing to debut their new grass pitch and it’s his No.8 counterpart Benjamin Nygren who’s as likely as any Celt to rip it up.

The attacking duo were on the same side going back to Sweden Under-21 days while old Hoops favourite Mikael Lustig was Ring’s team-mate at AIK in Stockholm.

READ MORE:I shared dressing room with Invincible Celtic legend and he raved about Scotland but Neil McCann sold me on move

A natural justice could await Nic

Let me be frank about Michael. If Celtic fail to qualify for the Champions League for a second season in a row, and an inability to manipulate the transfer window is a contributory factor, the club’s chief executive, Michael Nicholson, must resign. Or be sacked. The CEO is a lawyer by profession. He will have an innate understanding of right from wrong, innocence from guilt. A man on eye-watering wages can’t keep on delivering jaw-dropping failure without there being consequences. That’s natural justice, isn’t it?

Read Hugh Keevins' latest hard-hitting columnHERE

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