The season is not over yet for Celtic, who are set to host Falkirk on Saturday evening to begin their Scottish Cup title defence. The dreadful campaign saw them being knocked out from the League Cup by Ross County and losing the ‘ten in a row’ Premiership aspirations to bitter rivals Rangers.
Having said that, the Hoops are capable enough to conquer the Cup, and the third round fixture would hand them an opportunity to salvage something by the closure of the ongoing term. Falkirk, on the other hand, are going strong in the Scottish third tier. They are leading the race to clinch promotion to the Championship. Therefore, a strong Cup run would significantly boost Falkirk, having clinched a crazy late win versus Arbroath in the previous round.
Predicted 4-1-3-2 Celtic Lineup To Face Falkirk
Defence
Interim chief John Kennedy must not experiment much and field the strongest possible lineup against the Bairns. All their focus must be on the weekend contest, and the gaffer should bank on Scott Bain, who has grabbed the ‘number 1’ role of late ahead of their summer signing Vasilis Barkas.
A groin injury to utility man Nir Bitton leaves Celtic with Shane Duffy, Kristoffer Ajer and Stephen Welsh as the only available central defensive options (with Christopher Jullien already sidelined with a knee strain). Duffy has been disastrous since securing a loan move from Brighton last summer, but the young academy graduate Welsh has been impressive so far alongside Ajer since receiving a first-team status.
Jonjoe Kenny has settled in well as a right fullback following his winter move from Everton, whereas Kennedy has relied upon Diego Laxalt on the left over the highly-rated Greg Taylor.
Midfield
A midfield diamond has been tried out in recent weeks, with skipper Scott Brown operating from the base. However, a small tweak might hand them more balance in the middle of the park with versatile Callum McGregor operating from the left, allowing David Turnbull to occupy the central slot. The versatile Scotsman is flexible enough to alter the set-up to 4-2-3-1, 4-1-2-1-2 or 4-3-3 if the situation demands. James Forrest is fit enough to start after a long injury layoff and must replace Ryan Christie down the right-hand flank.
Attack
Forward Odsonne Edouard is currently enjoying his time with France U21 but would love to win one last silverware with the Bhoys before parting ways this summer amid speculations.
The Frenchman is expected to lead the line alongside Mohamed Elyounoussi who has exhibited more maturity as a makeshift centre-forward over the likes of Leigh Griffiths, Albian Ajeti and Patryk Klimala.
