Match

Brendan Rodgers should start these four Celtic fringe men vs Rangers with eye on Scottish Cup final

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Scottish Premiership champions Celtic have just four more league games to navigate before the big one on May 24 at Hampden Park.

A world record ninth domestic Treble is on the line at the end of the month as Celtic take on Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup final.

However, despite already being confirmed as league champions, they still need to finish off the rest of the post-split fixtures, starting with Rangers on Sunday.

There’s zero jeopardy now for manager Brendan Rodgers in the remaining league games, although he will still be eager to win them all.

Particularly against Rangers, who have beaten Celtic in the last two Glasgow derby meetings, the former a 3-0 defeat at Ibrox and the latter a 3-2 loss at Parkhead.

However, he needs to have one eye on completing the Treble – that’s more important than anything else right now, even beating Rangers in Govan.

And that’s why he needs to start giving fringe players more opportunities to give his regulars fresher legs going into the Scottish Cup final.

Below, 67 Hail Hail have listed four players who we think Rodgers should start at Ibrox on Sunday.

Paulo Bernardo in action for Celtic in the Scottish Cup final against Rangers.
Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images

Paulo Bernardo

The Portuguese midfielder has had to endure being in the shadows of both Reo Hatate and Arne Engels this season, with Rodgers largely preferring the pair.

Is Bernardo really a fringe player though? You could argue he is not given he’s played 39 games for Celtic across all competitions so far this season, totalling 1,591 minutes of action.

However, Rodgers has only started him 16 times and just 11 in the Premiership, which points towards where he currently is in the midfield pecking order.

Rodgers will obviously play captain Callum McGregor on Sunday, but it would be nice to see Bernardo and Hatate ahead of him.

Engels is a PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year nominee. However, his form against Rangers this season has been underwhelming and Bernardo deserves a chance ahead of the Belgian.

Maik Nawrocki

Remember how well Polish centre-back Maik Nawrocki played against Rangers in the previous derby despite the 3-2 defeat?

The 24-year-old was solid for large spells of the game, and followed that performance up with a clean sheet in the victory over Hearts.

Celtic fans want to see more of Nawrocki and many feel the £4.3m star is being treated unfairly by Rodgers, who prefers playing either Auston Trusty or Liam Scales beside Cameron Carter-Vickers.

Nawrocki, purely based on his last display versus Rangers, deserves a chance in this game. And it may even convince Rodgers to play him in the remaining league matches before the Scottish Cup final.

John Hartson has advised Nawrocki to leave Celtic, but he should be given chances to really prove his worth with the pressure now well and truly off in the league.

Celtic v Rangers - Premier Sports Cup Final
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Anthony Ralston

This one is simply a case of giving Alistair Johnston a bit of a rest. The Canadian has played the third-most number of minutes (3,856) this season for Celtic – only McGregor and Schmeichel are ahead.

Johnston isn’t bothered about a Rangers guard of honour this weekend, but what will get to him is being left out of the starting XI for a Glasgow derby.

However, Rodgers should stress to him that it’s for his own good. Johnston has delivered the hard work. Now he should be offered a spell on the bench before May 24 against Aberdeen.

Ralston has shown to be a solid deputy and has the physicality to deal with a Glasgow derby tussle with Rangers. He also has three goal involvements in his last five Premiership appearances, so that could prove useful on Sunday.

James Forrest

Celtic’s most decorated player of all-time, yet James Forrest is not a regular starter for the club.

Granted, the 33-year-old winger was injured for the best part of three months having last played in Celtic’s thrilling Premier Sports Cup final triumph over Rangers.

Forrest was excellent against Kilmarnock and looked desperate to score at Dundee United when he came on for the last 26 minutes as a substitute.

One Premiership goal before the end of the campaign would mean he has netted in each of the last 16 seasons of Scottish top-flight football.

Forrest knows what it’s all about facing Rangers having played against them 31 times in his glittering career. His 32nd appearance should come on Sunday from the start.