Celtic survived a late scare on Saturday afternoon and clinched a 4-2 victory against bottom-placed Dundee United to stretch their lead at the top of the Premiership standings. Rangers’ defeat hands them a seven-point cushion ahead of travelling to Fir Park.
The high-flying Hoops would lock horns with Motherwell on Wednesday night and must aim for three out of three wins so far this term. They already met once at Fir Park three weeks back and the relentless Celts registered an emphatic 4-0 triumph in the Scottish League Cup quarterfinal. The reverse tie at Parkhead finished 2-1 in favour of the hosts and the struggling Steelmen have a mountain to climb to grab a result against Ange Postecoglou’s juggernaut.
Predicted 4-3-3 Celtic Lineup To Face Motherwell
Defence
Joe Hart has conceded a few of late, but his presence between the sticks strengthens the defensive third given his experience and leadership traits. Benjamin Siegrist must wait for his chances in Cup contests.
Right fullback Josip Juranovic should return to the starting XI after making way for Anthony Ralston versus the Tangerines. Cameron Carter-Vickers offers resilience and composure in deep defence, and the gaffer might restore Carl Starfelt replacing Moritz Jenz. Alexandro Bernabei has been below par in recent games and the in-form Greg Taylor is expected to reclaim the first-team status down the left.
Midfield
With Callum McGregor ruled out until after the FIFA World Cup, Matt O’Riley has done a stupendous job in a makeshift ‘number 6’ role. He is regaining possession in the centre of the pitch and staging attacking moves from his deep-lying playmaking role. Reo Hatate must operate in a box-to-box role with his pace and swift skills, however, David Turnbull could make way for veteran Aaron Mooy as the latter remained as an unused substitute last weekend. But the Scotsman, as well as Oliver Abildgaard, might get involved as second-half substitutes.
Attack
Celtic are well equipped in the attacking third and the Aussie boss has rotated his attackers extensively so far this season across competitions. Sead Haksabanovic deserves a run of games from the right-hand flank following his brace against Dundee United, also the flair of Filipe Jota makes him irreplaceable on the left. The likes of Daizen Maeda, Liel Abada and James Forrest are also there to run riots down the wings. Kyogo Furuhashi might get the nod ahead of Giorgos Giakoumakis, particularly after his late decider before Abada put the game to bed in injury time.
