Liel Abada’s goal against Rangers in February sent Celtic Park into a frenzy and it’s that atmosphere he is looking to replicate this Sunday when they come calling again.
The young Israeli winger has had a brilliant debut campaign at the Bhoys, earning himself a nomination for the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award.
However, Sunday’s game is the most important thing for him right now and he opened up to the press on the derby this week.
As quoted by The Scotsman, he said: “It was such an amazing atmosphere. It’s always fun to score against Rangers. It’s a great feeling to score against your biggest rivals. I was happy to give the supporters a big result.
“The most important thing was we won the game and collected the three points.
“Was it the best atmosphere I have experienced? Of course. I’m only 20 and played in some big games in Israel. But this was amazing. If we win on Sunday, could it be even better? Of course.
“The atmosphere is always amazing inside Celtic Park but if we win the championship, I don’t even know what it will be like. We can talk about that afterwards so the focus is on Sunday and completing our goal.”
Abada may not actually start this weekend’s game but it seems likely he’ll be involved in some capacity.
Daizen Maeda and Jota look like the strongest wing pairing to complement Kyogo Furuhashi or Giorgos Giakoumakis.
Abada could have an impact in the second half, however. Postecoglou likes utilising the five substitutes rule to make four or more changes after the interval.
With the motivation to again delight Celtic Park and score his 16th goal of the season, he’ll be a big threat to the Rangers defence.
In other news, Van Bronckhorst suggests tactical change vs Celtic; could play perfectly into Ange Postecoglou’s hands.
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