Leigh Griffiths’ predictable unpredictability makes him Celtic’s dangerman.
And St Johnstone have got a hard job preventing him running their day for the second time in a fortnight, according to Zander Clark.
The Scotland striker pounced on a loose ball in the box to send the Perth side out of the Betfred Cup and the Saints keeper knows that he will be eyeing up a McDiarmid Park double.
“Leigh Griffiths had a couple of chances that he missed that night and maybe other strikers would let it affect them,” said Clark.
“But he was always hungry to get into the box. He’s one of those players where you’re never really sure where he’s going to go.
“He pops into wee pockets of space and is always running off the defenders’ shoulder.
“The boys know that they will need to be concentrated for the full game to try and keep him quiet.
“He is capable of producing a bit of magic from nothing so we’ll need to make sure we limit him to few chances.
“If you give him the half yard, he can create something.”
The manner in which the Saints players stuck to their manager’s game plan was impressive last time and a similar level of tactical discipline will be required on Sunday.
“Much more of the same is going to be needed and hopefully this time we can take chances that we create,” said Clark.
“We’ll set out to put in a similar performance. But we know we’ll need to be solid again in defence.
“That is not just the back four and myself. It’s everyone all over the park.
“We need to stick to the jobs we’ve been given and be hard to breakdown.”
Clark has been in top form over the last few week and is targeting a clean sheet at the weekend.
He said: “It’s always good if you can keep a shut-out against the top team in the league. That will be my aim, to go and keep a clean sheet.
“I’ll be wanting to keep us in the game as long as I can – and hopefully we can nick something.
“It’s always pleasing when you are making saves. The frustrating thing is when you are making those saves then don’t come away with a victory.
“You want to do your best for the team and try to get the win. If I can put in another performance again this weekend, then who knows.
“As I said, it’s about taking the chances when they come. If we do that, hopefully it will be a much better feeling after the game.”
