It might be too late to salvage the season, but Celtic are back in business with four successive league wins after weeks of turmoil and catastrophe. The spirit is high within the camp and the Hoops would look to ensure yet another win on Wednesday evening against Aberdeen at Celtic Park. The Dons, meanwhile, are undergoing a dreadful run of late and the outing against the champions would be sternest for Derek McInnes’ men. Hibernian are now favourites to grab a third-place finish ahead of them and its high time for Aberdeen to turn things around before further damage.
Predicted 4-1-2-1-1 Celtic Lineup To Face Aberdeen
Defence
Celtic clinched a comeback win against St. Johnstone but have failed to show enough resilience defensively. Custodian Scott Bain was not at fault though for the goal they conceded minutes after the break and Neil Lennon should retain him between the sticks before Vasilis Barkas settles in properly in the Scottish surroundings.
Stephen Welsh’s injury has not been as serious as it was initially thought. But the young centre-half would be assessed prior to the midweek tie and with Christopher Jullien out for months, the gaffer would have to rely on the underwhelming Shane Duffy once more alongside Kristoffer Ajer in the heart of the backline. Jonjoe Kenny has restored stability down the right-back slot, however, young Greg Taylor should have done better when Shaun Rooney earned the Saints a surprise lead at McDiarmid Park. Yet the Scotsman deserves a run of games to overcome his mediocrity and earn himself a cult status at Parkhead in the coming days.
Midfield
Lennon switched to a double pivot from the midfield diamond but failed to exhibit enough authority in terms of creativity in the attacking third. He must revert to the previous formation and opt for skipper Scott Brown operating from the base of the diamond. This would allow Callum McGregor and David Turnbull to utilize the width of the pitch and dominate the space in the middle of the park. Tom Rogic showed glimpses of his earlier self in recent weeks and should be deployed as a ‘number 10’ to operate in the advanced areas.
Attack
Ryan Christie won’t make a similar impact of an outright ‘number 9’ and the gaffer should bring back Leigh Griffiths from the start to partner majestic Odsonne Edouard high up the pitch. Albian Ajeti has failed to make an impact despite an array of appearances and the experience of Griffiths would help ‘French Eddie’ add more to his tally following a weekend double over the Saints.
