Celtic stars Leigh Griffiths and Greg Taylor could be handed a couple of big opportunities this afternoon as they get set to take on Slovakia in the Nations League.
Griffiths came on against Serbia for the closing stages of Thursday’s glorious penalty shootout success which secured Scotland a Euro 2020 spot. Taylor, meanwhile, was an unused sub as he continues to sit behind Andrew Robertson and Kieran Tierney in the pecking order.
However, a window of opportunity may very well have opened up for both men.
Lyndon Dykes, Clarke’s new first-choice striker with Scotland, is actually suspended for this afternoon’s game in Slovakia. The Scotland boss therefore has Oli McBurnie, Oli Burke, or Griffiths to choose from.
In recent internationals, McBurnie has been one of Clarke’s preferred options. However, he’s now gone 13 games without a goal whilst Griffiths has only just returned to contention. You’ll do well to find a single Scotland fan who believes McBurnie should start ahead of the Celtic star. Hopefully, Clarke sees sense here.
As for Taylor, he could also be in with a real shout this afternoon.
Clarke revealed yesterday that Robertson is the “most doubtful” to make Slovakia (Daily Record). It’s highly unlikely he plays, which could give Greg his opening. Many will think that Tierney would be the man to slot in, but considering how well he played as part of a central-defensive three on Thursday, Clarke may want to try him in his new position again. Or, given he played 120 minutes, he could be another in line for a rest.
Taylor has also proved his worth to the former Kilmarnock manager in the past too. When there was a host of call-offs back when Scotland were playing the likes of Kazakhstan and Cyprus, Taylor turned up and did a real job. He bagged two assists in two matches back in October 2019, before impressing again in a 1-0 win against the Czech Republic only one month ago.
Clarke has shown that he’s willing to throw the Celtic left-back in when he feels it’s necessary. However, given Taylor has lost his place in the Hoops first-team to Diego Laxalt, it remains to be seen if the Scotland boss has a different train of thought this time around.
Clarke ready to rotate
But speaking in the Daily Record, Clarke has admitted that he’ll need to rotate a bit more than normal:
“The short answer is yes (he’ll rotate more than usual). The long answer probably takes in the fact the celebrations wouldn’t have anything to do with it. It was a good celebration but it wasn’t crazy, it wasn’t silly and over the top.
“It was a physically draining game but emotionally also very, very draining for the players who were out on the pitch.
“I will give them another 24 hours and speak to three or four players who I have maybe got a doubt about going again after such a tough game, and then I will come up with a team selection that hopefully gets us another three points.”
Opportunities are there to be had, and this isn’t just any old game either. It’s not a friendly that’s being treated as a hangover cure for Thursday night’s celebrations.
This is a vital Nations League encounter where a win would ensure Scotland guarantee themselves a spot in the A section and likely give them a World Cup playoff spot (depending on some variables).
In other words, it’s a chance for Griffiths and Taylor to become even bigger heroes and an opportunity for them to potentially give the country a big boost towards the World Cup in 2022.
Neil Lennon will almost certainly be watching too to see how his fringe men do. Of course, it could be the case that Clarke decides to keep both on the bench once again, but that would seem like a total waste of their talents.
We’ll see what happens, but with big rotation set to kick in, this could be a big day in both of their seasons.
In other news, a reported Celtic summer target capped off a big week with a huge honour.
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