Kilmarnock midfielder Brad Lyons is undeterred by the prospect of facing a resurgent Celtic at Rugby Park this weekend.
Having already beaten Rangers at home this season, a result that intensified pressure on Philippe Clement, Derek McInnes’ side will be aiming to add another scalp.
Since the start of last season, Killie have defeated Celtic and Aberdeen twice each on their Ayrshire turf. However, Brendan Rodgers’ men, fresh from a commanding Champions League win over RB Leipzig, pose a formidable challenge.
Despite this, Lyons remains confident. He believes Kilmarnock’s strong home form, coupled with their experience of toppling big teams, gives them a solid platform to compete. Currently pushing for a place in the top six, Killie will be keen to maintain momentum.
The Northern Ireland international said: “We know Celtic’s qualities, they have quality players in every position, but so do we.
“We are not going into this game shying away from it. We know their quality, but we can give them a good go here.
“We are going to go in and back ourselves. It’s 11 players against 11 players out there. As I said before the Rangers game, we beat both Old Firm teams out there last year so why can’t we do it this year?
“We have that feeling of beating Celtic, we have that confidence, we know we can do it, so why can’t we do it again on Sunday?”
Rugby Park: A Fortress for Killie
Kilmarnock have only suffered three home defeats in the past 11 months, and Lyons credits this impressive record to the familiarity of their surroundings.
“Over the last three years since we came back up from the Championship, our home form has been really good,” he said.
“I don’t know whether it’s our home fans supporting us or the pitch, nobody likes coming and playing on the pitch. We are used to it, we train on it every day, we know the way the ball bounces and it can be different at times.
“Sometimes it can be the mentality thing. Hopefully we can use the home advantage to our benefit on Sunday.”