Stuart Armstrong grabbed the only goal of the game as an under-strength Celtic side opened a formidable 13 point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership courtesy of a 1-0 win over Kilmarnock.

The in-form French striker Moussa Dembele had an effort chopped off for offside before Armstrong provided a fine finish to put his side in front in the 44th minute.

Both sides had chances in the second half but Kilmarnock, the last side to score against the Hoops in the league, couldn't find an equaliser as Celtic recorded their sixth successive shut-out.

It is the start of a big week for the runaway league leaders who host Barcelona next Wednesday before taking on Aberdeen in the League Cup final next weekend.

"I thought in the first half we played very well but it took us a bit of time to get our goal which was a great finish from Armstrong," Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said.

"In the second half Kilmarnock came out and played well and stopped us building a bit but in the main it was a great victory on the back of the international break."

Killie manager Lee Clarke said he was disappointed for his players.

"I thought they were terrific. The game plan was really strong and defensively we did great," Clarke said.

"If my players deliver that sort of performance in the coming weeks we will give ourselves a great opportunity to put ourselves in a good position in the league."

With one eye on his side's crucial Champions League match, the Celtic manager made a number of changes to his side with Belgian defender Dedryck Boyata featuring for the first time this season.

The changes didn't seem to disrupt the flow of the Scottish champions who applied all the early pressure.

However, Kilmarnock soaked it all up before creating chances of their own with Craig Gordon turning a Flo Bojaj drive on to the underside of the bar before the on-loan Huddersfield forward headed over under pressure from Erik Sviatchenko.

Celtic quickly recovered their composure and thought they had taken the lead in the 38th minute when Dembele sent a sizzling strike beyond James MacDonald but his effort was ruled out after captain Scott Brown was adjudged to be in an offside position in the build-up.

On the cusp of the half-time interval, Celtic finally made the breakthrough. James Forrest got the break of the ball and played it to Dembele who threaded it through a Killie defender's legs into the path of Armstrong.

The midfielder, making his fifth start in a row, took a touch before picking his spot and firing low into the Killie net beyond MacDonald.

The Hoops had a chance to add to their advantage seconds after the restart but Callum McGregor's shot was stopped by the outstretched leg of MacDonald before Scott Sinclair sliced the rebound over.

At the other end Gordon scrambled a deflected Adam Frizzell shot out for a corner before Jordan Jones fired straight at the Celtic stopper.

Killie then had Scott Boyd to thank for keeping his side in the hunt as he backheeled a Forrest effort off the line before Mikel Lustig's curling shot clipped the outside of the post as the game fizzled out.