With a bit of luck, we could be in fora couple of exciting Celtic debuts tomorrow night when we face Nomme Kalju in Estonia.
The tie is effectively wrapped up. Celtic have bossed it, and go to Tallinn with a fine 5-0 aggregate score that will be next to impossible to lose from. Kalju will likely throw a bit more at us than at Celtic Park, but it shouldn’t cause us any real problems.
Neil Lennon has already provided some exciting news for the supporters too. The Hoops boss has claimed that he’ll make some changes to the starting XI tomorrow. Why not either considering the position we’re in. He earmarked Christopher Jullien, Scott Sinclair, and Lewis Morgan as possible starters (Scottish Sun).
And here, as always, we have a stab at just who could be in Lenny’s XI:
The team to face Nomme Kalju
It would be highly unexpected of Lennon to allow the changes to include his goalkeeper. But it may be the case that he gives Craig Gordon some game-time now that the tie is done. For a bold choice, we’ll go with Gordon to make his first competitive start of the season in Estonia.
It was a back three that took to the field at Parkhead in the first leg. In order to be safe, we’ll go with the back four tomorrow night. We would normally go with Anthony Ralston to feature in any highly-changed team, but he doesn’t look to be in Lenny’s plans. For now, we’ll go with Kristoffer Ajer to play once more at right-back, with Nir Bitton and Christopher Jullien at centre-back. Fans will be itching to see just what Jullien can offer, as he marks one of two competitive Celtic debuts in our XI.
Boli seemed to come off with a knock at Celtic Park in the first leg. Lennon said after the game that he was simply feeling ill more than anything (Celtic TV). In order to keep him fresh for Saturday, we’ll throw Jonny Hayes in for his first competitive start of the season too.
CalMac break should provide one of two competitive Celtic debuts
Callum McGregor played more minutes than any player in world football last season. Celtic got stick for advertising it to their supporters on social media too. Now is the right time for Lenny to give him a break. He isn’t needed in Tallinn, and hopefully, it opens up an opportunity to see more of Luca Connell.
Connell has yet to make a start for Celtic in competitive action. In fact, he’s yet to feature whatsoever in a meaningful game. Partnering Scott Brown in Estonia would do him a power of good, and it would also allow us to see a bit more of him heading into the season. You can read more on why we think Connell should be selected here.
In the forward ranks, an attacking trio involving Scott Sinclair down the left and Lewis Morgan down the right is hard to ignore. Lenny mentioned the pair when thinking of players who could start, so it would be silly to leave them out, even if Neil has a change of heart between now and the game.
In the middle, it would be interesting to see Mikey Johnston as a number 10, but we’ll go for Ryan Christie to remain in the team. Building on his two goals at Parkhead last week would be ideal ahead of the new season, and he looks raring to go.
Odsonne Edouard doesn’t need to be risked in Tallinn. But there’s one man who would love a shot at it – Leigh Griffiths. The Scotland striker scored his first competitive goal last week, and building on that tomorrow night would be great for his confidence. It’s Griff over Eddy for us, and hopefully it leads to his eighth goal in all matches since returning.
Below is the team, as always, in list form:
GK – Craig Gordon
RB – Kristoffer Ajer
CB – Nir Bitton
CB – Christopher Jullien
LB – Jonny Hayes
CM – Scott Brown
CM – Luca Connell
RM – Lewis Morgan
CAM – Ryan Christie
LM – Scott Sinclair
ST – Leigh Griffiths
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