Hibernian v Celtic is live on Sky Sports Football from 12pm on Sunday
Wednesday 12 December 2018 19:10, UK
Hibernian head coach Neil Lennon says his side must be at their “very best” to get a result against "formidable" Celtic on Sunday.
Celtic head to Easter Road on Sunday - live on Sky Sports Football - off the back of a 5-1 win over Kilmarnock, a result which saw them return to the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Lennon, whose Hibernian side recorded their first league win in six games on Saturday - a 1-0 victory away at Hamilton - believes his players need to play at their absolute best and hope Celtic slip below their usual standards to get a result.
Asked whether his team can compete with the champions, he said: "Yes at any given time, but when they're in the mood and with the mentality they've shown under Brendan over the two and half years he's been in charge, they're fantastic.
"They play the big games really well and seven trophies in a row speaks for itself.
"Celtic can do what they did to Kilmarnock, who were top of the league, to any team on their day so we're hoping they have their frailties on the day and we have to play at our very best to get something out of it."
Hibernian could be without a number of key players for the game on Sunday and Lennon admits he may have to inject some youth into his starting XI due to the quality Celtic possess on the ball.
"We know how difficult and formidable an opponent they are," he added.
"At the minute we've got a few senior players with injuries - (Paul) Hanlon, (David) Gray and (Marvin) Bartley - so that plays into your thinking.
"We may go a little bit younger because we need legs in the team, there's no doubt about that. To play against Celtic we need legs because they keep the ball so well and they work you from different angles and different positions."
Celtic were 4-2 winners the last time the two sides met in October. The previous six matches between the teams have seen a total of 24 goals scored, and Lennon feels that is down to the type of football both teams try to play.
"Both teams want to play attacking football and have a go," he said.
"The last game Celtic were fantastic in the first half and we played really well in the second half. We ended up on the wrong side of a 4-2 defeat but we came away thinking that we had made an impression which a lot of teams don't do so we're looking for more of the same at the weekend."
