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Domestic duties for Celtic after Gunners blow

After the glamour of their midweek Champions League match Celtic get back to domestic duty this weekend when they take on St Johnstone at Parkhead.

The Old Firm side went down to a 2-0 defeat to English giants Arsenal in the Champions League play-off first leg on Tuesday.

Now new Hoops boss Tony Mowbray must lift his side for the visit of newly-promoted St Johnstone as they continue on their quest to regain the Scottish Premier League crown from arch-rivals Rangers.

A dominant showing at Pittodrie against Aberdeen on the opening day of the season saw Celtic rack up a 3-1 victory, a performance Mowbray will want his side to repeat.

New signing Landry Nguemo has been in impressive form since joining the Hoops on a loan deal from French club Nancy in the summer.

And while all the talk in Glasgow surrounds the club’s return tie at the Emirates Stadium next week the Cameroonian midfielder says the players were only looking to the match against St Johnstone.

“We were unlucky in the game against Arsenal with the way we lost the two goals but now we must focus on the game against St Johnstone,” said Nguemo.

“Everyone is talking about Arsenal but the players all want to win the championship, so for us this game against St Johnstone is no different. In your head, you have to treat every game the same. It can’t be viewed differently.

“We want to win the league and to do that, you have to focus on every game.”

Celtic have been boosted by the news captain Stephen McManus made his return from injury in a workout against Blackburn Rovers this week, but the game against St Johnstone could be too soon for him.

Saints manager Derek McInnes will be without defender Kevin Rutkiewicz for the trip to Celtic Park but will have taken confidence from his side’s strong performance in their SPL opening day draw with Motherwell.

On Sunday, champions Rangers face a difficult away match at Tynecastle against Hearts.

Walter Smith could hand Kevin Thomson a starting place after he came on as a substitute in last weekend’s 4-1 defeat of Falkirk. The midfielder has been out since November with knee ligament damage and is in need of match fitness.

Kirk Broadfoot, Nacho Novo and Maurice Edu miss out with injuries while Sasa Papac and Kyle Lafferty are suspended.

Hearts boss Csaba Laszlo will be without captain Michael Stewart after he picked up a red card in their match against Dundee United.

New Aberdeen manager Mark McGhee hopes his team can kick-start their season with a win away to Hamilton.

The Dons have had an awful start to their campaign with embarrassing defeats to Czech side Sigma Olomouc followed by their opening day humbling at home to Celtic.

Portuguese striker Marco Paixoa joins twin Flavio in the Hamilton squad for the game after signing on at New Douglas Park this week.

Motherwell host Kilmarnock at Fir Park. Killie were many critics choice for the drop but 3-0 win over Hamilton sees them sit in second.

New Motherwell manager Jim Gannon’s introduction to the SPL was a 2-2 draw with St Johnstone and will be looking for his first home win.

John Hughes takes his Hibernian side to face old club Falkirk in Saturday’s early kick-off match. The Bairns were battered by Rangers last week while Hibs picked up a 2-1 win over St Mirren. St Mirren host a Dundee United side boosted by a 2-0 win over Hearts thanks to new signing Danny Cadamarteri’s double.

Fixtures (1500 GMT, unless otherwise stated)

Saturday

Falkirk v Hibernian (1230)

Celtic v St Johnstone

Hamilton v Aberdeen

Motherwell v Kilmarnock

St Mirren v Dundee United

Sunday

Hearts v Rangers (1245)

GLASGOW (AFP)

Tags: Aberdeen, arch rivals, blackburn rovers, captain Michael Stewart, captain stephen, captain Stephen McManus, celtic park, Danny Cadamarteri, Derek McInnes, Douglas Park, Dundee, Emirates Stadium, Falkirk, Fir Park, french club, Glasgow, Hamilton, john hughes, Kevin Rutkiewicz, Kirk Broadfoot, landry, league crown, loan deal, Marco Paixoa, mark mcghee, Maurice, mcmanus, motherwell, Nancy, Novo, parkhead, pittodrie, premier league, return tie, Scottish Premier League, st johnstone, tony mowbray, tynecastle, walter smith

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