Celtic v Raith Rovers: Preview, predicted team, referee details, KO time & where to watch | OneFootball

It’s the second of four consecutive home matches for Brendan Rodgers and his Celtic side as Barry Robson’s Raith Rovers side make the journey across to Glasgow along with around 3000 supporters to take on the Scottish Cup holders in the fifth round of this famous old cup competition…

Barry Robson. Image Premier Sports

Celtic kicked off the run of Paradise match on Wednesday night with an emphatic win 6-0 over Dundee in the Scottish Premiership which edges Celtic a step closer to a 13th title in 14 years. The Hoops have a 13 points lead as well as a huge goal difference advantage over second placed theRangers.

Daizen Maeda celebrates scoring Celtic’s third goal during the match between Celtic and Dundee at Celtic Park on February 05, 2025 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Now it’s the Scottish Cup and it’s the second home draw for Celtic after an entertaining game against Kilmarnock last month saw Celtic progress with a 2-1 victory. The opposition is Raith Rovers who of course have celebrated before after defeating Celtic in the League Cup Final just over 30 years ago. That of course earned them a European place and a tie against Celtic’s next opponents. The half-time scoreboard in Munich in that Bayern v Raith Rovers encounter makes some interesting reading even after all this time…

Half time scoreboard. Bayern Munich 0-1 Raith Rovers. Photo social media

Celtic Team News

Brendan Rodgers confirmed at his media conference that Kasper Schmeichel will sit this one out as he is suffering from a back complaint. However the Great Dane will be ready for the Champions League match with the aforementioned Bayern Munich on Wednesday night at Celtic Park.

Brendan Rodgers. Image Premier Sports

The Celtic manager also confirmed that Viljami Sinisalo, a £1m summer signing from Aston Villa, will make his competitive debut for Celtic against the Fifers tomorrow afternoon. Rodgers also confirmed that he will continue to rotate his squad as he has done all season. There could be a touch more than usual tomorrow with no risk being taken ahead of the Champions League knock-out tie’s first leg which is a first for Celtic in 13 years.

Celtic Glasgow vs. Young Boys Bern YB – Celtic Park : Viljami Sinisalo Celtic Glasgow, Photo JOERAN STEINSIEK

So with Viljami Sinisalo in goals Anthony Ralston could the right-back with new signing Jeffrey Schlupp starting at left back. The centre-back pairing should be Liam Scales and one from CCV and Auston Trusty.  Let’s say Brendan will opt to rest up Cameron Carter-Vickers as he has been more injury prone this season.

Luke McCowan opens the scoring, Dens Park, Dundee v Celtic. 14th January 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

In the middle of the park Luke McCowan will be joined by Paulo Bernardo and probably Callum McGregor, although it may actually be better to keep the captain out of things completely and let him make his 502nd appearance against the Bundesliga leaders.

The front three will include the sensational Daizen Maeda, who annoyingly in banned for midweek after the ridiculous UEFA decision to upgrade his one match to two for the harsh red card Daizen was given in the closing stages of the win over BSC Young Boys. Adam Idah, as Conall McGinty suggested on The Celtic Star on Thursday evening, needs to be wrapped in cotton wool, so Johnny Kenny should get his first start too and the front three could be competed with another outing for South Korean winger Yang.

Johnny Kenny of Celtic Celtic v Dundee, Celtic Park, 05 February 2025 Photo Stuart Wallace Shutterstock

Jota will get some minutes, probably from the bench but he may edge out Yang in the starting line-up, with the two likely to share the 90 minutes shift in midweek. Here’s what happened the last time Jota played in the Scottish Cup…

So our predicted Celtic team to take on Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup is as follows:

Jota gets a welcome back hug from Anthony Ralston. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Match Officials

Referee Chris Graham Dundee United v Hibernian, Scottish Premiership, 19 October 2024. Photo Steve WelshShutterstock

Chris Graham takes the whistle for the fourth time this season in Celtic match  The 35 year-old referee was previously in charge of away wins for Celtic at St Mirren Park in August and Rugby Park in November. Graham was also the man in the middle for Celtic’s 3-0 victory over Hibernian at Celtic Park in December.

Joining Graham on-field are linesman Gordon Crawford and David Dunne. Manning VAR duties at Clydesdale House is Greg Aitken – with Graham McNeillie taking the role as Assistant VAR.

Kick-off Time

Celtic Park ahead of the match between Celtic and Motherwell on 26th December 2024. Picture by Mark Runnacles Shutterstock

Celtic v Raith Rovers has that rather strange 5.30pm kick-off time to suit the sponsor/broadcaster Premier Sports.  The game against Kilmarnock in the fourth round also had this kick-off time and the stadium was close to capacity and the atmosphere was great. Expect more of the same tomorrow with incidentally the Raith Rovers fans going to be occupying the same number of seats that we’re giving to theRangers next month. So you’ll get a sneak preview of what the stadium will look like when that lot are allowed back in.

Where to Watch

Celtic’s Yang Hyun-Jun during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Motherwell at Celtic Park, on 26th December 2024 Picture by Mark Runnacles Shutterstock

Celtic v Raith Rovers in live on Premier Sports, ideal for supporters in Britain or Ireland who can’t get to Paradise. The Scottish Cup tie is also live on Celtic TV for subscribers based outside of Britain and Ireland and coverage starts at 5.15pm, Celtic Park Time for live coverage, with Daylin Docherty and Simon Donnelly calling all the action from Paradise.

The match will be available to watch live on Celtic TV for all subscribers outside the UK and Ireland, with live audio commentary provided for those based in the UK and Ireland. The game will also be available on demand after full-time, with UK and Ireland subscribers able to access it from midnight (CPT).

Check out BBC Sportscene for their highlights package and their usual blue-nosed punditry.

Predicted Score

Brendan Rodgers and Callum McGregor with the Scottish Cup on 25 May 2024, after Celtic’s 1-0 win over theRangers in the final at Hampden Park. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

There’s just no way that Brendan Rodgers is going to allow any complacency to creep into the squad’s mindset against Raith Rovers, with minds drifting to the Bayern Munich match. The risks in the starting XI are offset by the powerful bench and it’s hard to see anything other than a comfortable Celtic victory, maybe 4-0 then easing off.

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