Neil Lennon has informed the supporters not to expect too many changes to his Celtic squad for today’s trip to Aberdeen.
The Hoops have just come off a fine 2-1 win over Lazio in the Europa League. The night was a draining one both physically and mentally. However, coming off a victory, the momentum generated from the contest is undeniable.
Many will expect a tweak or two ahead of today’s lunchtime kickoff at Pittodrie. Celtic certainly have the depth in their squad to make some changes this afternoon too.
But Lennon, speaking in the Daily Record, hinted that fans shouldn’t expect more than three when the team is announced today.
“We’ve got to come down and recover as well as we can. We may have to rotate a little bit, I don’t know if there are any aches and pains.
“A couple came down with cramp and maybe a bit of fatigue. It’s something we will have to look at.
“I don’t want to make too many changes because looking at it historically it can be detrimental if you make more than three changes. And with the way they are playing they have that match rhythm as well. But it was a big effort on Thursday.”
So who could make the team that didn’t feature on Thursday?
Lennon clearly isn’t interested in going over the top with squad rotation today. And neither he should be either. The trip to Aberdeen isn’t one to take lightly. Given the fact we’ve slipped up already after European games this season, the warnings will be fresh in Lennon’s mind.
But if there are changes to make, it will be interesting to see who makes the cut.
It could mean, for a start, that either Moritz Bauer or Jeremie Frimpong come into contention today. With Hatem Abd Elhamed giving it his all against Lazio and coming off with a knock, we have able replacements to rotate there. Frimpong could easily play on Wednesday at home to St Mirren, so this match reads like a good game for Bauer to come back in for.
An enforced change will most certainly come in the number 10 position. Ryan Christie is ineligible once again. This will be the final game of his suspension. Therefore, Tom Rogic will have to make an impression today. With Olivier Ntcham sidelined, it surely has to be the Aussie who comes in as change number two.
And for our final bit of swapping, Neil could find a way to put Nir Bitton back into the side. That’s unlikely to come at the expense of Callum McGregor or Scott Brown in the midfield of course. But seeing him alongside Christopher Jullien this afternoon wouldn’t be much of a surprise.
We could have two out of our three changes totally wrong. But if Lenny does go ahead with three changes, it’s difficult to see who else he drops.
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