Celtic’s sheer dominance in Scottish football guided them to script an unbeaten domestic treble triumph last season under newly appointed boss Brendan Rodgers. Although they failed to retain their ‘invincibles’ status this term, the Bhoys are on the course of another treble-winning campaign and points away from securing an incredible seven-in-a-row Premiership title.
Their Wednesday night outing against Dundee at Celtic Park is likely to take them inches closer to the league glory and the hosts are tipped to register a routine win versus the struggling Dark Blues.
Team News
The Hoops are likely to welcome veteran custodian Craig Gordon who is already back in the team training recovering from a knee injury. Young fullback Kieran Tierney is also close to returning to the matchday squad but unlikely to feature on Wednesday night. Nir Bitton and Jonny Hayes, however, are still sidelined and will remain so for the rest of the campaign.
Formation (4-2-3-1)
Rodgers has experimented with his team setups very frequently and it’s difficult to predict what he is planning for the upcoming fixture. The Bhoys looked synchronized and well-organized in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Ross County this weekend and the gaffer is likely to retain the same for this midweek encounter.
Goalkeeper
Craig Gordon has been club’s first-choice custodian for years and is now in contention to return between the sticks recovering from a knee injury suffered earlier this year. On-loan Scott Bain is ineligible to feature against his parent club, hence, set to lose out his starting slot despite having a sensational run while Gordon’s injury absence.
Defence
Mikael Lustig was back in the lineup against Ross County following a few weeks of absence and is now expected to retain his place on the right-hand side of Celtic’s ‘back four’. Dedryck Boyata was surprisingly taken off at half-time against Ross County and his poor form might see Jack Hendry having a start in central defence against his former employers.
Jozo Simunovic was shown a straight Red against Rangers last month and served a suspension in recent games. Despite being back in contention, Rodgers is likely to field young Kristoffer Ajer who has been a revelation in Celtic backline this season. Callum McGregor was utilized in a makeshift left-back role against the Staggies and is likely to be fielded once more if the young fullback fails to recover on time.
Midfield
Although Scott Brown and Oliver Ntcham have been preferred in Celtic’s central midfield, Rodgers handed Stuart Armstrong a start ahead of Ntcham against Ross County. Armstrong found the back of the net and is likely to retain his place after missing out months of football following a hernia surgery.
James Forrest and Scott Sinclair are tipped to occupy the flanks whereas Tom Rogic might keep his place in an advanced midfield role following his towering display over the Staggies.
Forward
Moussa Dembele is back among goals and likely to retain his first-team slot ahead of Odsonne Edouard and veteran Leigh Griffiths who has now returned from his calf injury and was handed a few minutes off the bench on Saturday afternoon.
