Celtic v Livingston: team news, referee details, KO time & where to watch

Originally posted on The Celtic Star | Last updated Aug 23, 2025 2:26 AM ET

Celtic face Livingston as the Scottish Champions return to domestic duty after the UEFA Champions League Playoff First Leg with Kairat Almaty. The Celtic support were left disappointed after a dull stalemate with the visitors from Kazakstan, which resulted in frustrations being directed towards the club’s board for their failure to bring in adequate transfer replacements ahead of the Playoff.

Now, Celtic require to make the sizeable journey and win to secure their place in the UCL League Phase. Although, before that, David Martindale’s Livi will be the visitors at Paradise.

Team News

Celtic go into the game without Adam Idah, Auston Trusty and Alistair Johnston. The Canadian Internationalist is expected to be out for around 12 weeks with a hamstring injury with Academy product Colby Donovan expected to come into the first team picture to compete with Tony Ralston for a place in the team. Trusty is out with a foot injury while Idah has a knock to the knee.

Brendan has said that he will make a number of changes as he looks to freshen things up with Tuesday’s return leg in mind. There are limitations to what the manager can do given the lack of offensive recruitments.

Kasper Schmeichel will start in goals. The Danish Internationalist was an assured presence at the back in the midweek and his experience will be invaluable if a result is to be forthcoming.

In defence, expect Kieran Tierney to continue with Liam Scales. However, there may be a debut for JSP, the loan signing from Manchester City as Cameron Carter-Vickers’ minutes are managed. Tony Ralston will start at left back. KT may even captain the side if CalMac starts from the bench.

In midfield, expect changes to freshen up the starting XI with Arne Engels, Paulo Bernado and Luke McCowan all coming in to start. Benji Nygren could very well start in the wide right role or, equally, Luke McCowan may be pushed to the left side of a front three.

In attack, Celtic may require to start either Shin Yamada or Johnny Kenny through the middle with Yang and James Forrest vying to play out wide. The manager could play Yamada off the right, too. There are a number of combinations that the manager may consider but the reality is that there is not an abundance of quality options.

Predicted XI: Schmeichel; Tierney, Scales, JSP, Ralston; Bernardo, Engels, McCowan; Nygren, Shin, Yang.

Referee Details

Seasoned referee Kevin Clancy will take charge of the game. The experienced whistleblower will be assisted by David McGeachie and Chris Gentles.

Meanwhile, at Clydesdale House, Steven McLean is on VAR duties with Graeme Leslie assisting.

Kick Off Time

The game kicks off at 3pm (Celtic Park Time).

Where to Watch

The game will not be shown on TV. However, Celtic TV subscribers outside of Britain and Ireland will be able to watch the action from Paradise on the club’s streaming service with pre-match build up starting at 2:45pm.

This article first appeared on The Celtic Star and was syndicated with permission.

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