Against Ross County, making a Celtic predicted XI is a thankless task.
You see, it’s been so difficult accurately suggesting the exact line-up Neil Lennon will go with. The man’s a maverick. You think you’ve got him figured out, and then pow! Here’s Scott Brown again.
Considering the length of the journey up to Dingwall, and the bizarre kick-off time [Scotsman], Lennon has more time to shuffle his deck as needs be. Truly, on a bus trip that long, all it might take is an annoying comment from Albian Ajeti, or a poor song choice by Scott Bain, to change everything.
Admittedly, the risk of that is minimised by the fact that 6 buses are heading up to the Highlands, but still. With Celtic this season, anything that could happen, will probably happen.
Let’s take a look at what our prediction for Sunday night’s starting line-up. Again, to repeat our disclaimer: anything could change before tomorrow night.
Bain and his defence have done little wrong recently
You’ll have noticed that Celtic have kept 3 clean sheets in 5 matches. That means the case for keeping the Celtic defence as-is remains pretty compelling.
That starts between the sticks, where Scott Bain will mostly like retain the number 1 jersey. Admittedly, a trip like this might’ve been excellent for Vasilis Barkas’ confidence, but Lennon is unlikely to make any changes at the back. Ahead of the goalkeeper, expect a pairing of Stephen Welsh and Kristoffer Ajer to pick up where they left off.
Given Ross County’s tendency to attack down the sides [WhoScored?], Greg Taylor and Jonjoe Kenny will be trusted with keeping the Staggies quiet on each flank. There is an argument for giving Taylor a wee rest. The left-back has been on impressive form since the turn of the year, but Laxalt might be utilised for this one.
As it is, I’m hedging my bets on Taylor but not by much. Lennon would be justified in resting one of his key men for this trip.
Ismaila Soro and David Turnbull are undroppable
In the middle of the park, it’s diamond time again. We’re thinking Ismaila Soro, David Turnbull, Ryan Christie and Tom Rogic.
I have ummed and ahhed over this, but I’m relatively certain Callum McGregor is going to get a rest. Eventually, Lennon tends to acquiesce to a good ol’ media campaign. With pundits suggesting CalMac is due a breather, the Celtic boss may just let his co-captain sit this one out.
Tom Rogic will play in his stead, which isn’t the best call, I don’t think. Ideally, supporters would want to see someone like Luca Connell or Ewan Henderson make the team for once. It’d be great to see some fresh faces in the side, but Lennon seems reluctant to rely on youth.
Will Lennon persevere with Albian Ajeti?
It’s hard to know if we’ve collectively reached a conclusion on Albian Ajeti. The Swiss striker was impressive on his return to the side, against Killie. Since then, though, he’s been largely anonymous, from a goals and assists point of view.
Given that he’s a striker, goals are somewhat important. Ajeti hasn’t been scoring many of them recently. However, Lennon tends to pick one of his expensive summer signings at any given time. Given Barkas is out, Ajeti will probably be given another opportunity. It’s like a see-saw. A £10m see-saw.
Next to him, there are no prizes for guessing: it’s Odsonne Edouard. The idea of Edouard being dropped at this moment in time seems entirely ridiculous. He’s scoring goals for fun, although he’ll be aggrieved at not netting against Aberdeen this week.
Predicted XI: Bain, Kenny, Ajer, Welsh, Taylor, Soro, Turnbull, Christie, Rogic, Ajeti, Edouard
READ MORE: This Celtic youngster got fed up waiting around; his opportunity begins today.
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