Brendan Rodgers has explained his decision behind sticking with the same Celtic XI which faced Dinamo in midweek.
The Hoops take on rivals Rangers this afternoon in the Premier Sports Cup Final at Hampden and it is all set to be an enthralling clash.
Rodgers had big personnel decisions to make including whether to start Arne Engels or Paulo Bernardo, Greg Taylor or Alex Valle at left-back and Kyogo or Adam Idah up front as the lone striker.
The Celtic boss was praised by his supporters for his XI for Rangers and now he has revealed that freshness was key to his picks and that substitutes will be vitally important at the national stadium for what is shaping up to be a massive final.
Speaking on BBC Sportsound, Rodgers was asked about his decision to keep the same starting squad from the goalless draw in Zagreb on Tuesday of last week.
And the manager responded: “Yeah, but changes needed within the game. Lots of games at the moment and the freshness of the team is important.
“At some point we’ll freshen it up.
Brendan Rodgers says he will make good use of the Celtic bench vs Rangers
“It will be the team we start with but it certainly won’t be the team that will finish the game.”
There had been a debate among both fans and pundits alike about the midfield in particular with Engels and Bernardo the topic of conversation.
Neil Lennon suggested the Belgian would become a ‘real player’ for the club earlier this weekend and the thought was that Engels would perhaps be given the nod.
Bernardo, however, has had some of his best outings for the club against their rivals and he helped set up Adam Idah for his Scottish Cup Final winner at the end of last term.
Celtic vs Rangers kicks off at Hampden Park at 3.30pm
The Irishman – who starts on the bench this afternoon – explained in the build-up to the final this week how he had not been pleased with the start of his season.
And Idah admitted he wanted subbed back off on his Glasgow derby debut last year before a goal in the game settled his nerves.
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