Celtic will host Hearts of Midlothian this weekend in the Premiership which is pretty much an inconsequential tie for both the teams as any result wouldn’t affect their standings on the table. However, both the sides are set to face off in the Scottish Cup final next weekend so both will take this game as a dress rehearsal for that.
Neil Lennon’s side are coming on the back of a defeat against Rangers where their arch-rivals comprehensively beat them. Whether it was complacency or the players already being in a holiday mood after securing the 8th Premiership title in a row, the Celtic players need to hold themselves accountable for a shoddy display in the Old Firm derby.
The manager would hope that his players are at it in this tie at home as they wouldn’t want to go into the finals with two back to back defeats under their belt.
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James Forrest (hamstring) and Kieran Tierney (hernia) are the two significant first-team absentees for Lennon. He will also be without Ryan Christie, Craig Gordon and Dedryck Boyata. Daniel Arzani and Eboue Kouassi have been long term absentees throughout this season.
Celtic Predicted Lineup Vs Hearts of Midlothian
Formation (4-2-3-1)
Defence
Scott Bain is expected to start in goal for the Hoops. The centre back pairing of Kristoffer Ajer and Jozo Simunovic has done well, and we expect the duo to start in defence once again. Emilio Izaguirre should be preferred over Jonny Hayes to start as the left back. Jeremy Toljan can get a start in this game as Mikael Lustig has been slightly injury prone and Lennon might want to keep the experienced defender safe for the final against the same opponents.
Midfield
Scott Brown is expected to play in a conservative role in midfield. Olivier Ntcham should partner him. The Frenchman has been extremely sloppy this season, and he has been affected by injuries in the past year. Further up front, Tom Rogic is likely to operate as an attacking midfielder. Callum McGregor should get the nod to start down the left flank. Scott Sinclair could be shifted on the right side to replace Forrest. Michael Johnston was non-existent in the Rangers tie, and he doesn’t seem good enough to start.
Attack
Oliver Burke has been a disappointment after impressing early on, and that leaves only one candidate to start up front, and that is Odsonne Edouard.
