Brendan Rodgers has named his Celtic starting XI to face Partick Thistle in the Premier Sports Cup.
The Celtic boss is looking to defend the trophy he won last December when Celtic beat Rangers in a thrilling penalty shoot-out.
Of course, Celtic supporters will be hoping that today’s tie is relatively more straightforward than that and hope the team can get a win in the regulation 90 minutes.
And to do that, Rodgers has named the starting XI he believes that can take Celtic past Thistle and on to Hampden for the semi-final of the Premier Sports Cup next month.
Brendan Rodgers makes big changes as Celtic take on Partick Thistle
With Celtic’s Europa League tie against Red Star Belgrade just days away, it’s clear Rodgers has one eye on the big European tie.
- Celtic starting XI: Sinisalo, Donovan, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney, McGregor, Hatate, Nygren, Yang, Iheanacho, Tounekti
- Substitutes: Schmeichel, Balikwisha, McCowan, Engels, Bernardo, Saracchi, Maeda, Murray, Forrest
Michel-Ange Balikwisha, Kasper Schmeichel, Daizen Maeda and Marcelo Sarrachi all make way as Colby Donovan, Hyunjun Yang and Viljami Sinisalo all start.
Clearly having the Europa League up next has played a big role in Rodgers’ team selection but there should still be enough in the tank to get a good result for the Celtic fans.
The last time Celtic faced Partick Thistle at Firhill
Celtic haven’t faced Partick Thistle at Firhill for well over five years now.
The last time the two Glasgow clubs faced each other was in the Scottish Cup in season 2019/20 when Neil Lennon was the manager.
- 18.01.2020: Scottish Cup: Partick Thistle 1 v 2 Celtic
Goals from Leigh Griffiths and Callum McGregor were enough to send Celtic through the fourth-round tie and seal a Quadruple Treble.
In the last 33 games between the two clubs, Celtic have won 32 and drawn the other so the signs are looking good for another crucial cup win.
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