Celtic, the champions of Scotland, will begin their title defence on Sunday afternoon against Aberdeen. The Hoops bounced back stupendously under the tutelage of Ange Postecoglou, but they must maintain their league form as well as improve European performance to depict their supremacy over bitter rivals Rangers.
Aberdeen, on the other hand, had a disastrous 2021-22 season as they finished in the bottom half of the Premiership standings. Stephen Glass failed miserably as the Pittodrie chief and was eventually replaced by Jim Goodwin. The former St Mirren boss has a colossal task ahead of him, and the Dons, too, must uplift their game while locking horns with the Celts at Parkhead.
Predicted 4-3-3 Celtic Lineup To Face Aberdeen
Defence
The signing of Benjamin Siegrist on a Bosman is a massive coup by the Bhoys, but the Swiss custodian is expected to continue as the understudy to veteran Joe Hart who has revived his career after a few forgettable years in England.
Celtic have a few injury problems in the defensive third with Carl Starfelt still recovering from an injury woe. Summer signing Moritz Jenz is a fitness doubt as reported by Videocelts, and the gaffer might opt for Stephen Welsh to partner Cameron Carter-Vickers in the heart of the backline. Josip Juranovic must operate from the right after a scintillating 2021-22 season; also, first-team regular Greg Taylor is likely to continue as the left fullback irrespective of Alexandro Bernabei’s arrival earlier this window.
Midfield
Skipper Callum McGregor has been their standout performer in recent years. The versatile Scotsman showed sheer dominance as the deep-lying playmaker, and the box-to-box movements of Reo Hatate and Matt O’Riley brought them success and silverware. They have been majestic since winter and their immense work rate helped Postecoglou implement ‘Angeball’ in the middle of the park. Yosuke Ideguchi has suffered another injury setback, but they still have David Turnbull and Aaron Mooy among the other midfield options.
Attack
Celtic are well equipped in the attacking third and have retained their prominent stars. They have tied down Filipe Jota on permanent terms after a blistering loan stint from Benfica, and the young Portuguese must exhibit his creative spark down the right-hand flank. Kyogo Furuhashi has been a revelation as a ‘number 9’, and the work ethics of Daizen Maeda should be utilized from the left ahead of the other wide attackers like Liam Abada and James Forrest. Giorgos Giakoumakis was prolific high up the pitch, overcoming early jitters, but the Greek centre-forward is tipped to be the understudy to Furuhashi, similar to the previous term.
