Benjamin Arthur and Luke McCowan should both play for Celtic against Rangers at Ibrox this weekend.
This is the biggest Glasgow derby of the season as both the Hoops and Rangers fight to stay within reach of league leaders Hearts.
Three points would be the perfect birthday present for Martin O’Neill and the team he will name for the fixture will have play a huge role in that.
McCowan has often played out of position on the wing this season 🙃
It's time he was given more of a chance in his natural role. Tell me if you agree ⏬
Why Luke McCowan has to play for Celtic against Rangers
TalkingPoints users voted Viljami Sinisalo as their man of the match, but Luke McCowan deserved his flowers too.
McCowan joined an illustrious list of Scotsmen by scoring within 30 seconds of the win against Stuttgart on Thursday.
It was a chance for him to play in his natural position and he took that with open arms, controlling the game and making runs from a deeper role into the box. Energy like that has been missing from the middle of the park and needs to be restored.
As for the defence, despite Dane Murray’s impressive display alongside Liam Scales, having a faster, more physical centre-back in Benjamin Arthur will be beneficial to counter the threat from forward Youssef Chermiti, who scored twice in the previous meeting.
67 Hail Hail’s predicted Celtic XI to face Rangers
Sinisalo keeps his place in goal after passing his audition midweek, leaving Kasper Schmeichel to settle for a place on the bench.
If fit, Julian Araujo starts at right-back but Colby Donovan is more than capable of deputising if not.
Arthur and Scales form the centre-back partnership and Kieran Tierney returns to play left-back.
What changes would you make to Callum’s predicted XI to face Rangers? 🤔
Callum McGregor, McCowan and top scorer Benjamin Nygren are the midfield trio in the middle of the park and will need to be at their very best.
Sebastian Tounekti starts out on the left, replacing Daizen Maeda after another quiet display, allowing Hyunjun Yang to keep his place on the right.
Junior Adamu linked up well with McCowan in Germany and should keep his place too.
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