Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham may be one of the only men to benefit from Ryan Christie’s recent red card at Livingston.
Christie will miss our next two domestic fixtures – against Ross County and Aberdeen – after being dismissed for serious foul play in the defeat to Livingston. His absence almost certainly means that Ntcham will feature in the two games, and that’s no bad thing.
The Frenchman is probably the most creative player in our ranks and there’s an argument that he’s better suited for home games against the likes of County. Christie offers more in an off the ball capacity but that’s not required as much in run of the mill encounters.
Ntcham has been given a big Celtic opportunity
Sandwiched between the two domestic games is the Europa League clash against Lazio – for which Christie will be eligible. The Scottish international should be suitably rested for that one and safe in the knowledge that he can give his all on the night knowing that he won’t feature three days later at Pittodrie.
Ideally we’d have Christie around for the game against Aberdeen but Ntcham should cope fine with that one if he’s on his game. It’s a big couple of weeks for the Frenchman and a chance for him to show that he belongs in Neil Lennon’s starting side.
Lennon has been accused of failing to rotate the squad sufficiently in recent weeks. Perhaps now when he’s forced to do so in a key position, we could see a new dynamic side to Celtic.
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