Celtic eased past Hearts with a convincing 4-0 win in the last game. Brendan Rodgers made quite some changes to the squad that the tight schedule demanded but it hardly had any effect on the team’s performance. They face third-placed Aberdeen next and are easily the favourites to win the fixture. And, we expect to see some changes in the squad this time too.
Defence
Craig Gordon will continue to take his place under the bar (if he’s still at the club, that is!). After yet another clean sheet against Hearts, the Scottish international will be hoping for a clean sheet against Aberdeen this time as he had conceded a goal in Celtic’s 4-1 win over them in their last fixture.
Mikael Lustig started from the bench against Hearts and Rodgers is likely to rest Cristian Gamboa who started the game. Lustig didn’t start the last two games and will expect to start the game fresh this time. Rodgers is fortunate to have both his side-backs doing brilliantly on the right defensive flank and having healthy competition.
Kieran Tierney started on the left-flank as Rodgers rotated the squad against Hearts. The Scottish youngster once again showed his immense composure against Hearts. Emilio Izaguirre is expected to take his place this time.
Dedryck Boyata started the game against Hearts and has drawn a lot of praise from the boss, but is likely to give way to Erik Sviatchenko in the centre-half position alongside Jozo Simunovic.
Midfield
Nir Bitton started the game against Hearts in the pivot and we expect the Israel international to continue in the role. With Stuart Armstrong, out with a hamstring, Rodgers will take a more attacking approach.
The midfield setup, which has been quite effective for Celtic so far has gone under experimentation recently with Rodgers keeping one man back to let the front two take the creative duties. And the attacking midfielders will be comprising of Scott Brown and Callum McGregor. McGregor opened the scoring against Hearts in the weekend and the boss is expected to continue deploying him.
Attack
Moussa Dembele is out with a knee injury and Rodgers opted to start with his side’s top-scorer, Scott Sinclair by moving him up from the flanks. And the winger didn’t disappoint the manager, bagging a brace against Hearts. Young Patrick Roberts took Sinclair’s place on the right wing and netted the third goal, which says the depth and form that Rodgers’ squad is enjoying at the moment. The left flank will be taken by James Forrest.
