As everyone knows, it has not been a normal football season. The Covid-19 crisis has had a huge impact on the game, with the biggest effect being no fans in stadiums.
However, there have been other, small changes thanks to the virus, and one occurs in the Scottish Cup semi-final between Celtic and Aberdeen on Sunday.
As confirmed by the SFA in July, teams that take part in the semi-final will be able to field five substitutes in the game instead of the usual three.
Hoops have much stronger squad
This rule change could actually be used to Celtic’s benefit. Indeed, it could give the Hoops the edge in the match. Being honest, Celtic have a much stronger squad than Aberdeen. Nobody, not even the most biased Aberdeen fan would dispute that.
Therefore, with the squad Celtic have, Neil Lennon now has the chance to utilise players he wouldn’t have been able to had the game been played in April, when only three subs were allowed.
Lets’ look at Celtic’s strikers for example. The Hoops have four forwards in the first-team squad. You would imagine that with the formation Neil Lennon is playing at the moment, only one of those strikers will start the game. Odsonne Edouard, probably.
Four forwards could be on pitch at once
Let’s say though, that Celtic are in need of a goal late on to win the game, or even take it to extra time. It is highly unlikely, but Lennon could if he wanted to bring on the three other strikers. And he could still have the option to bring on another two players if he wanted to!
The five subs rule is only being used for the remainder of ‘this’ season’s Scottish Cup. The SFA announced in September that the number will revert to three for ‘next’ season, with one extra that can be used in extra time.
The Scottish Cup has already been a strange tournament. Particularly when you consider that the semi-finals have been delayed for six months. It would be fitting if Celtic’s fourth or fifth substitute scored the winning goal to put the Hoops in the final. The rule is there to be taken advantage of, and Celtic have the squad to do just that.
In other news, Jim Spence claims that Celtic have scouted Dundee United’s Benjamin Siegrist.
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