After a demoralising Champions League exit, who should Brendan Rodgers play against Partick Thistle?
Sunday’s encounter sees the Hoops face the Jags in the second round of the Betfred Cup. Partick dropped down to the Championship last season and have made an indifferent start to the campaign already.
However, the spotlight will firmly be on which side Rodgers sends out at Firhill. Celtic have been plagued with injuries and internal fighting. Yet depth isn’t that strong that the Celtic manager can make wholesale changes?
Therefore, who can he select to keep things fresh on Saturday afternoon?
Kristoffer Ajer is the first player who should be returned to the squad. The Norway international is a consistently solid performer, but was suspended for the trip to Greece.
With both Jack Hendry and Jozo Simunovic failing to convince, either one could easily drop out. Rodgers has a fondness for both, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Bosnian drop to the bench. A 3-5-2 would also be the way to go against a much-poorer Thistle side.
MORE CELTIC STORIES
There is also the option of trying Kieran Tierney at centre-back. This would allow Emilio Izaguirre to get his first run-out since returning to the club. However, this would be an extremely outside of the box plan, as Rodgers likes Tierney bombing forward from the left.
Scott Sinclair notched Celtic’s goal in Athens, and he deserves another chance to shine. The Hoops supporters have been waiting on the Englishman to turn his form around for months. However, despite many attempts, Sinclair has yet to pick up the form that made him so adored two seasons ago.
The former Aston Villa man deserves a return to the starting line-up. At this stage, it’s also a case of why not as Celtic are likely to start experimenting.
Odsonne Edouard will also return to the starting line-up if fit. However, this shouldn’t be at the expense of Leigh Griffiths. Celtic need to try reverting back to two up front, as they have the firepower to cause serious damage to Premiership teams.
Moussa Dembele was rusty in Greece, and should make an appearance from the bench. However, Griffiths fully deserves the chance to impress after a decent performance on Tuesday.
Predicted XI:
CRAIG GORDON (GK)
MIKAEL LUSTIG (RB)
KRISTOFFER AJER (CB)
KIERAN TIERNEY (LB)
JAMES FORREST (RM)
SCOTT BROWN (CM)
OLIVIER NTCHAM (CM)
TOM ROGIC (CAM)
SCOTT SINCLAIR (LM)
ODSONNE EDOUARD (ST)
LEIGH GRIFFITHS (ST)