Celtic need a win in Como against Al-Ahli to end their pre-season preparations on a high.
Brendan Rodgers took his team to Italy off the back of Celtic wins against Newcastle United and Sporting CP in the hope of winning the Como Cup.
However, Celtic’s defeat to Ajax put the brakes on the pre-season hype and now, Rodgers must go back to the drawing board against Al-Ahli tonight.
The Saudi Arabian champions face Celtic after Como defeated them 3-1 in the opening game of the tournament and their star-studded side will also be keen to bounce back with a win.
So with that in mind, here is 67 Hail Hail’s Celtic predicted XI as Rodgers looks to end his pre-season campaign with a win.
Adam Idah will lead Celtic’s front line vs Al-Ahli if Shin Yamada is absent
Brendan Rodgers is likely to use tonight’s final friendly fixture to field his strongest possible side for at least the first 45 minutes.
Kasper Schmeichel gets the nod in the Celtic goal with a back four of Kieran Tierney, Auston Trusty, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Alistair Johnston.
Carter-Vickers will likely last 45 minutes as he looked miles off it against Ajax.
The midfield trio picks itself with Celtic captain Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate and Arne Engels all starting.
Rodgers will persevere up top with Adam Idah leading the line and Daizen Maeda and Benjamin Nygren providing the ammunition from the Celtic flanks.
If Shin Yamada’s international clearance comes through on time the chances of the Japanese striker starting ahead of Idah will be greatly enhanced.
The line-up will most likely drastically change at half-time but Celtic fans will get a glimpse of how Rodgers is likely to start the defence of the Scottish Premiership title next week against St Mirren with tonight’s starting XI.
Seven days on from what Brendan Rodgers said after Celtic signed Shin Yamada
Yamada was Celtic’s seventh summer signing and almost a week on, Rodgers is yet to add any further new faces to his squad.
After the capture of Yamada, Rodgers told the BBC, “We’ve got a lot more to come, we’ve got some more to bring in also.
“We need to and we want to get some more from the squad, some more players to come in and support the guys that are already here.”
As yet, there has not been a sniff of another new player coming to Celtic and should the Al-Ahli result go against the Parkhead club tonight, more questions will be asked by the fans of Celtic’s summer transfer policy.
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