Neil Lennon’s comments on squad rotation over the weekend has definitely had an effect on our predicted XI vs St Mirren.
Lenny stated before his side went to Aberdeen that it’s detrimental to make more than three changes to a side (Daily Record). On Sunday, the Hoops boss made two and Celtic ran out 4-0 winners. His method was a proven success as tiredness proved no issue at Pittodrie.
But St Mirren at home is a fresh game and a chance for Celtic to fire their goal difference even higher as we attempt to stay ahead of Rangers domestically. With the Ibrox side struggling to beat Motherwell, it was a positive weekend overall for Celtic supporters.
And looking ahead to tomorrow night, here’s how we think Celtic will line-up at Parkhead.
The Team
Even when Celtic’s squad gets rotated, the goalkeeper seems to stay the same. Fraser Forster seems to have the jersey for the foreseeable future, and he’ll be looking to build on two consecutive domestic clean sheets.
We predicted Moritz Bauer to start at Pittodrie over both Jeremie Frimpong and Hatem Abd Elhamed respectively. Instead, Lenny went for Frimpong who repaid him with a goal. But we just have a small feeling that Bauer’s return to the team will be soon. If Frimpong is now just behind Elhamed in the pecking order, this would be an ideal game to keep Bauer sharp. He starts in our side.
At centre-back, the defensive duo of Christopher Jullien and Kristoffer Ajer could also be split. Jullien came off against the Dons, but it didn’t seem to be down to injury. Nir Bitton replaced him and done well enough – we expect Lenny to go with Ajer and Nir at the back this time around too to keep Jullien rested.
Boli Bolingoli continues to impress on a weekly basis. It’s incredible to think how far he’s come since his dodgy debut against Sarajevo. Now, he looks every bit the real deal. He’ll likely start on Wednesday, with Greg Taylor still nowhere to be seen.
Scott Brown and Callum McGregor continue to work like a well-oiled machine. They don’t look like they need a rest, and it would be a huge surprise if Lenny gave either man one.
James Forrest and Mohamed Elyounoussi will look to add to their own individual strikes at Pittodrie. However, with Ryan Christie back from suspension, we’re going to go with him ahead of Tom Rogic on Wednesday night.
Up top, there is the temptation to go with Vakoun Issouf Bayo. But with Lenny’s previous comments on only making three changes, we’ve unfortunately made ours. Edouard to start as he looks for goal number 21 for club and country this term.
As always, here’s the team in list form:
GK – Fraser Forster
RB – Moritz Bauer
CB – Kristoffer Ajer
CB – Nir Bitton
LB – Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo
CM – Scott Brown
CM – Callum McGregor
RM – James Forrest
CAM – Ryan Christie
LM – Mohamed Elyounoussi
ST – Odsonne Edouard
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
