Scott Brown is back in the Celtic ranks for the visit of Kilmarnock to Parkhead on Saturday afternoon.

The club captain has missed four games since injuring his knee in the warm-up before the League Cup win at Hearts on October 28.

Recent arrival Carlton Cole may have to wait a little longer for his debut having been sick during the week while Kris Commons is definitely out through illness.

Manager Ronny Deila said: "Scott Brown has been an important player for many years now, running about like a 20-year-old so he's ready to play.

"A lot of the players have had a good rest so they should be fresh for Saturday and hopefully they can put in a good performance. We are on a good run in the league and this is another important game. I'm looking forward to it."

Kilmarnock boss Gary Locke can welcome Mark Connolly back to his squad for the trip to Glasgow; the defender has not played since suffering a knee injury against Ross County at the end of August.

However, fellow defender Darryl Westlake is out with an ankle problem while long-term absentee Chris Johnston remains unavailable after tearing knee ligaments.

Locke said: "We will go there and have a go because there's no point sitting back as you'll just get beat anyway. So we will go to Parkhead looking to attack and give it our best shot.

"If they want to get to the highest level then these are the games they should be desperate to perform well in."

The visitors are ninth in the table after losing their last two games but will take heart from the point they claimed from a 2-2 draw with the champions at Rugby Park in August.