The struggle continues for Celtic who suffered a humiliating 1-0 defeat against Livingston on Sunday afternoon. They need to wake up now to avoid more misery and ensure a victory this midweek in their Scottish League Cup quarter-final outing. This is a relatively easier fixture for the Hoops as they are set to host Raith Rovers on Thursday night.
The Rovers, on the other hand, stunned Aberdeen in the Round of 16 despite conceding an early goal. They staged a comeback in the second half and earned their trip to Celtic Park. Although it’s been a mixed start so far in the Championship, John McGlynn’s men are determined to script yet another upset and progress further in this year’s contest.
Predicted 4-3-3 Celtic Lineup To Face Raith Rovers
Defence
Considering the ongoing crisis, Ange Postecoglou must not experiment much with his starting XI. He should retain Joe Hart’s services between the sticks ahead of Scott Bain and Vasilis Barkas.
A recurring shoulder injury has ruled left fullback Greg Taylor out for around a couple of months. Outcast Boli Bolingoli was restored for the Livi clash and the Belgian should keep his place after showing some promises at Almondvale. Carl Starfelt missed the weekend tie due to illness and is likely to replace Stephen Welsh in deep defence. Cameron Carter-Vickers and right fullback Josip Juranovic are expected to feature again being the high-profile summer recruits. Anthony Ralston lost his place to the Croatian following a dreadful defensive display versus Real Betis a week ago.
Midfield
Postecoglou is ‘pretty confident‘ of having skipper Callum McGregor back for the upcoming fixture. Neither Ismaila Soro nor James McCarthy did justice in the middle of the park during the Scotsman’s absence and his return should serve the manager a significant boost. Tom Rogic and David Turnbull have shown composure and creative spark and the latter has excelled so far in a more central role.
Attack
Injuries to Kyogo Furuhashi and James Forrest have been a significant blow for Celtic. Young pair of Liel Abada and Filipe Jota must operate from the flanks, whereas Albian Ajeti might get deployed once again as an outright ‘number 9’. Hitman Giorgos Giakoumakis is yet to make his debut and the gaffer should hand him some minutes to attune to the demands of Scottish football. Academy duo Michael Johnston and Adam Montgomery might get involved as second-half substitutes.
