FOLLOWING their victory against St Mirren in midweek, Celtic host Livingston at Paradise in the Scottish Premiership today (Saturday). Despite the opposition’s disappointing start to the 2020/21 campaign, Neil Lennon expects a typically spirited and energetic performance from Gary Holt’s men.

The Irishman identified the departure of ex-Livi forward Lyndon Dykes as a possible reason for the Almondvale side’s form so far this season, but said they’re still capable of causing the nine-in-a-row champions problems.

“Livingston have changed their style of play a little bit, they started their season as a back three and now they’ve gone back to a back four,” said Neil Lennon. “They’ve sold Lyndon Dykes, who was a huge player for them, and they’re probably in a little bit of a transition period going into this season.

“The results haven’t been as good so far as they have been in previous seasons, but we’re still expecting Livingston to be difficult to beat and to be full of energy. If there’s one thing about Gary Holt’s Livingston, it’s that they really are a team with a great spirit and energy, and they’ve given us problems over the past couple of years.”

Despite the tight scoreline in Paisley, Neil Lennon. hailed his players’ determination to secure three points away from home. Now, the manager is keen to build on the momentum his side have shown in recent weeks – having scored 12 goals in the last three games.

He added: “We’ve got a heavy schedule of games because the season has been a little bit stop-start for us. Now we’re getting into a run of games that we’re all looking forward to as well. That’s not an issue, we’ve got good depth in the squad and we’ll balance it up as much as we can as we go along.”

Neil Lennon: We’re prepared for energetic Livingston encounter