Celtic suffered a shocking equaliser at Fir Park as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Motherwell. The Hoops slipped up, and Kilmarnock went top of the table. However, the current table toppers have played two more fixtures and Celtic would have a chance to regain the top spot when they take on Killie this weekend.
We expect Rodgers to go in with a strong side as he experimented midweek and rang in a lot of changes in the starting eleven. Many would consider that as a significant cause for the failure against Motherwell where they had all three points for the taking.
Team News
Dedryck Boyata is going to be a major miss in the heart of the defence, and he is going to be out for weeks. Daniel Arzani and Eboue Kouassi are long-term absentees, and it is unlikely that the duo would see any action this season. Kristoffer Ajer is still some time away from recovering from surgery to his eyeball socket. Mikey Johnston is also unlikely to feature because of fitness concerns.
Celtic predicted lineup vs Kilmarnock
Formation (4-2-3-1)
Defence
Craig Gordon often finds himself doing nothing for the most parts of the game in goal, but he needs to concentrated until the end to not repeat what happened in midweek. He should start in between the sticks. Rodgers needs to go in with the new defensive pair of Jozo Simunovic and Filip Benkovic after an injury to Boyata. Cristian Gamboa was awful in the midweek tie, and even though Mikael Lustig has also come under a lot of criticism, he remains the best bet for the right back spot. The ever-dependable Kieran Tierney should start down the left.
Midfield
Scott Brown and Olivier Ntcham should partner up in midfield with the former being in a more defensive role. The attacking onus should be provided by the likes of Callum McGregor, Ryan Christie and James Forrest. Christie currently can’t do anything wrong at the moment.
James Forrest’s attacking impetus was missed in the last game, and he could be a major game changer in this tie. McGregor has often played in a more subdued role of late, but we believe he should start down the left ahead of the struggling Scott Sinclair.
Attack
Leigh Griffiths got a rare start, and he spurned a penalty in the midweek tie. He is likely to be dropped on the bench for this game. Expect Rodgers to go back to his main forward Odsonne Edouard in the match against the current table toppers.
