High-flying Celtic are marching towards a ‘domestic treble’ with a nine-point lead at the top of the Premiership as well as a place in the League Cup final. They grabbed a thumping 5-0 win against Greenock Morton in the Scottish Cup 4th Round and the in-form Hoops must maintain the momentum when they would lock horns with the struggling Dundee United on Sunday afternoon.
The Tangeries are fighting for their top-flight survival. They suffered a 9-0 humiliation versus the Bhoys in their own backyard and the weekend’s encounter at Tannadice would not offer any advantage for the home side. There is no place for complacency though in the Celtic camp and Ange Postecoglou, therefore, must demand another flawless performance from his juggernaut.
Predicted 4-3-3 Celtic Lineup To Face Dundee United
Defence
The gaffer has banked on veteran Joe Hart between the sticks across competitions. The former Three Lions custodian will start again with a view of grabbing his fifth successive clean sheet since conceding twice against Rangers earlier this month.
Josip Juranovic’s transfer to Union Berlin cements Alistair Johnston’s gametime down the right-hand side. The Canadian has grabbed his opportunities amid the injury absence of Anthony Ralston. Carl Starfelt must keep his place in the heart of the backline, whereas left fullback Greg Taylor is likely to replace Alexandro Bernabei after returning to team training a week ago. Cameron Carter-Vickers picked up a knock but is expected to be back in action after missing the past two games due to fitness reasons. Yuki Kobayashi would retain his role in case the USMNT centre-half fails to recover in time.
Midfield
Despite ample options in the centre of the pitch, the addition of Tomoki Iwata has bolstered them further in terms of depth as well as quality. But the Japanese ace should remain the understudy to skipper Callum McGregor who has been majestic with his vision and technicality as a deep-lying playmaker. Aaron Mooy is enjoying a blistering spell and the Aussie boss should rely on him once again ahead of Matt O’Riley. Reo Hatate must return to the starting XI in place of David Turnbull.
Attack
Oh Hyeon-gyu is another exciting addition who would challenge and cover Kyogo Furuhashi in the wake of Giorgios Giakoumakis’ potential departure. Having said that, Kyogo is irreplaceable for his incredible poaching traits, but the manager might shuffle his wide attacking options for the upcoming contest. Daizen Maeda should feature from the right allowing Filipe Jota to occupy the left-wing spot. Sead Haksabanovic, James Forrest and Liel Abada could be involved at a later stage as second-half substitutes.
