Celtic return to Paradise for the first time in almost a month this afternoon, taking on St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.
Since the Bhoys last played in front of a home crowd they’ve gone on to book a place in the Scottish Cup final at Rangers’ expense and confirm their status as 2022/23 league champions. Undoubtedly, they will receive a fantastic reception from supporters.
With all eyes now on that final against Inverness CT and a midweek match ahead, today could be a chance for Ange Postecoglou to freshen up his team and give a couple of players a big starting chance. What will his eleven be? He’s our best go…
The potential Celtic team vs St Mirren
Joe Hart is almost certain to continue in goal. It’s hard to see him being shifted before the end of the season, with the coaching staff likely eager to keep him as sharp as possible for the upcoming Hampden occasion.
We could see a change in the back four from last week’s defeat to Rangers, however. Greg Taylor is a strong candidate to come in for Alexandro Bernabei alongside Anthony Ralston, Carl Starfelt and Yuki Kobayashi.
It’d be great to see a big starting chance for Tomoki Iwata in midfield, too. The Japanese player has only started once at Celtic Park previously, in a 1-1 draw against Motherwell. Today could be the ideal chance to right that wrong and let supporters see how he’s progressing.
Captain Callum McGregor is likely to feature, with Reo Hatate making up our midfield three for this one. Postecoglou has a number of options in these positions and he could go with any combination given there are few stakes involved, as well as cup final considerations.
In attack, Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda are candidates to return to the starting line-up after Ibrox. And could we see the manager turn to a youth option on the wing?
Rocco Vata was on the scoresheet in the recent Glasgow Cup final and while he had to be subbed off in that one, he’s been spotted in team training again this week. The youngster has yet to be handed a start for the Bhoys and keeping Jota, Sead Haksabanovic and others fresh for the trip to Easter Road on Wednesday night is a possibility. After a strong season, it’d be a deserved opportunity.
Your predicted XI in full is: Hart, Ralston, Starfelt, Kobayashi, Taylor, McGregor, Iwata, Hatate, Vata, Maeda, Kyogo.
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