Celtic travel to Sweden for the second leg of their Europa League play-off against AIK with a doubt about who will start at right-back.
Recent signing Hatem Abd Elhamed has missed the last two games for the Hoops. Kristoffer Ajer has taken his place in the side, and has coped admirably.
Therefore, should Elhamed fail to make the match against AIK, the Hoops should be confident that they will be able to cope in his absence.
Ajer might be a centre-back primarily, but he has played on more than a few occasions at right-back for Celtic this season.
No worries about playing centre-back at right-back
He played well against AIK in the first leg of the tie. Therefore Neil Lennon will have no worries about playing Ajer at right-back in the second leg of the tie.
Should Ajer play well, it could leave Lennon with a conundrum for the upcoming Glasgow derby against Rangers on Sunday.
Ajer’s best position is at centre-back, and fans will hope he plays there at Ibrox. However, should Elhamed still not be fit, Ajer may need to play at right-back again.
Also, it could be a bit of a gamble to rush a player back from injury into the battle of a Glasgow derby.
Defensive partnership may continue
Should Ajer stay at right-back though, it does mean that Christopher Jullien and Jozo Simunovic can continue their centre-back partnership.
The partnership has looked solid enough for the Hoops in the last two games. The only goal that the Hoops have conceded in that time was a penalty scored by Hearts.
It will be a test for the duo against AIK, but they handled the Swedish champions easily enough in the first leg. The second leg could be a different story though. AIK will need to attack, but Celtic should not fear that.
It will be unfortunate for Elhamed should he miss one of Celtic’s most important games of the season. However, the Hoops should be able to cope with his absence.
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