Celtic are gunning for a consecutive treble winning season to break the record in the Scottish top-flight. To succeed they will have to upstage Motherwell in the Scottish Cup Final which is set to take place on Saturday evening, May 19 at Hampden Park.
Brendan Rodgers has already wrapped up the League Cup and the Scottish Premiership title this season, much to the woes of their bitter rivals, Rangers FC. He is poised to repeat a treble in only his second season in charge but Motherwell are in the way.
Steve Robinson is prepared to offer a resounding challenge to the Hoops with most of their first team players already confirmed by the manager. The Steelmen drew 0-0 to Celtic during their previous meeting in the league cup fixture and lost 2-0 in the League Cup final back in November.
Exacting revenge is on Robinson’s mind as the remainder of the Scottish teams might be on their backing in order to prevent Celtic from taking it a notch further in their dominance towards domestic oppositions. What the Hoops have managed to achieve this season and for the entirety of their existence is staggering to watch with their record number of trophies.
They even have the strongest team and the heavy favourites going into this tie. However, there is no discounting the underdogs who have done relatively well for themselves this season. Motherwell finished the season in the 7th spot of the points table and have managed to go to the finals of both domestic knockout competitions.
Anything can happen in a one-off fixture when both teams have everything on the line. Here is how Celtic might line up to ensure their win on Saturday.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Defence
Craig Gordon will have to prove his fitness ahead of the clash which leaves Scott Bain to be the likely candidate in between the sticks.
20-year-old Kristoffer Ajer is expected to continue in the centre-back role alongside Dedryck Boyata.
Kieran Tierney is set to start on left-back with Mikael Lustig fielded on the right.
Midfield
Scott Brown and Olivier Ntcham are expected to get paired up in the holding midfield roles.
Tom Rogic just tied down his services for 5 more seasons and should look to resume his duties from the attacking midfield position.
The flanks might get filled by Callum McGregor and James Forrest, the former on the left.
Attack
Leigh Griffiths is fit and available while Odsonne Edouard struggles to be fit for this tie. Moussa Dembele might get the nod for the number nine role.
