Celtic take a break from Scottish Premiership action this weekend to focus on a Hampden clash with Aberdeen as the quest for a double continues.
The Bhoys have had an enjoyable fortnight in the league, opening up a three-point gap over rivals Rangers after some positive performances that are in sharp contrast to the horror show suffered by Philippe Clement’s team.
Celtic are now in a strong position to secure the title with just five games remaining and many are making them hot favourites to lift the silverware.
For prominent pundit Chris Sutton nothing is won yet. He still feels there are surprises around the corner for both Brendan Rodgers’ side and Rangers.
He’s also called on three players to step up and show their quality in the Celtic team to answer the one remaining question mark about the Bhoys’ attacking potency.
Chris Sutton wants more from Celtic wide areas
Speaking to The Daily Record [20/04 print edition], Sutton said: “There are still questions about the wide areas. Daizen Maeda is a major loss for the run-in – and that final Old Firm encounter in particular.
“James Tavernier will be a relieved man he won’t be involved and when you consider how influential Jota and Liel Abada have been in that fixture in recent years, Celtic don’t have the same bankers this time around.
“It’s time for Nicolas Kuhn, Luis Palma and Yang to step up and doing the business on the big Hampden pitch could be a springboard for them going into the remaining five league games. Rodgers can rely on the likes of McGregor, Matt O’Riley and Hatate to fire – but he will need these others as well.
“There could be more twists and turns to come but this weekend at Hampden will give us a great indication of where things are going.”
Luis Palma form has been shown before
Palma actually had a pretty strong first half of the season at Celtic. He was stringing together some nice performances and even made an impact at UEFA Champions League level.
Despite his struggles with fitness and injuries after the winter break, he’s still managed to score nine goals and assist ten more in all competitions for Celtic this term.
If he can hit those kinds of heights in the remaining matches this season it’d be a huge boost for the Bhoys, especially if January signing Nicolas Kuhn also shows his worth.
Hyunjun Yang has blown hot and cold but can make an impact, too. And don’t rule out James Forrest making decent contributions from the bench.
Let’s see what they have at the national stadium on Saturday in a high-stakes fixture.
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