Brendan Rodgers seems to have an idea of the Celtic side he will choose to face Valenica in the Europa League.
Kieran Tierney is not available for the game, so Emilio Izaguirre looks likely to replace him. He also disclosed that Jozo Simunovic is back for the game.
Rodgers made these revelations on Celtic’s official Twitter account.
The return on Simunovic leads us into the biggest decision Rodgers has to make for the tie. Who will play alongside Dedryck Boyata at centre-back for the Hoops. Will it be Simunovic or Kristoffer Ajer?
Both players have their pluses and minuses. They are both prone to make rash errors of judgement. Simunovic’s needless handball against PSG. Ajer’s late red card against St Johnstone, for example.
On their day though, when keeping it simple, both players are more than capable of turning in solid defensive displays.
It an educated guess were to be made, then Simunovic seems more likely to start than Ajer. He is a more experienced player and has also played alongside Boyata on numerous occasions.
Simunovic and Boyata can be a solid partnership. Perhaps Brendan Rodgers has already made his decision about who plays at centre-back. Maybe he is leaving it until just before kick-off.
It is vitally important that he gets the decision correct though. A solid defence is just what the Hoops need if they are to take a positive result over to Spain.
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