One of the biggest decisions Neil Lennon will have to make this weekend is who plays down the left side.
Scott Sinclair has yet to fire under him, but has still started the four games under Lennon. Other options are also available in the form of Oliver Burke and Timothy Weah. If it was down to us, we would choose the former.
Burke hasn’t pulled up any trees as a lone-striker. He’s bagged four goals since January, but his touch and hold-up play is a tad questionable. There’s no denying that he looks like a winger playing up front, and hopefully the experiment stops soon.
It should be fair to say that Odsonne Edouard starts up top. After all, he’s bagged two last-minute winners for Lennon, and is becoming a talisman for the Northern Irishman. Not starting him would open Lennon up to real criticism.
James Forrest, meanwhile, has failed to turn up for these fixtures in the past, but he has caused Rangers big problems in his last two games against them at Celtic Park. He bagged his first ever goal against them during the 5-0 romp in April 2018. He then followed that up with an assist for Olivier Ntcham back in September.
But Sinclair has been far too quiet in this fixture for too long. In his first season he was rampant. The left-winger bagged four goals against Mark Warburton/Pedro Caixinha’s Rangers. Yet, since a penalty kick in the 5-1 Ibrox demolition, Sinclair has failed to net.
At Ibrox back in December, the Englishman was woeful. He consistently had his back to goal and allowed James Tavernier to close him down, before losing the ball on the majority of occasions.
Tavernier’s worst aspect of his game is his one-to-one defending. That and positional awareness, at least. Sinclair isn’t direct enough these days to cause the problems he once did for the Rangers captain.
Burke is a threat with his pace
Burke, however, is all about directness. He is naturally a right-sided winger, but his pace and energy can see him make a positive influence down the left.
Against Kazakhstan for Scotland, he got past his full-back on several occasions down the left. Burke would eventually let himself down with his final balls, but Scotland surrendered possession too often on the night.
Against Rangers, however, Burke would likely see plenty of it. You would strongly fancy him in a one-v-one against Tavernier, and that could see Celtic get into some real promising situations down the left.
Nine times out of 10, Burke just kicks it past his man and runs. There’s nothing overly fancy about it, but it’s extremely effective. Tavernier would be all over the place trying to deal with that kind of pace.
Lennon must leave no stone unturned in his persuit of the treble-treble. His job likely depends on it, and therefore he needs to make the smart decision.
Let us know what you would do in the final third in the comments below. Would you start Burke over Sinclair, or perhaps not? Should Burke start elsewhere? Let us know.
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