Celtic have been given a bit of a boost ahead of today’s clash with Livingston, as Livi striker Lyndon Dykes is only 20-80 when it comes to his chances of playing.
The big Australian has been Livi’s main focal point this season. He only has a modest four goals and two assists this term. However, when it comes to Livingston’s attacking game-plan, it all revolves around the former Queen of the South man.
The Daily Record has released the Celtic provisional squad for the 12pm kickoff. In that piece, they confirmed the 20-80 chance Dykes has of featuring today.
The striker picked up an ankle injury that saw him miss Livi’s 2-1 defeat at Hamilton last week. Instead, Scott Robinson was chosen to lead the line, but made minimal impact.
Dykes’ best performance of the season came against Rangers in the Betfred Cup nearly two weeks ago. There, he bullied both Connor Goldson and Filip Helander. He was going to be a handful today, and, granted, there is a small chance he still could be.
Livingston not the same team without Dykes
Regardless of Dykes’ absence, Livi will operate similarly in both the defensive and midfield thirds of the pitch. They’ll get tight to Scott Brown and Callum McGregor, and try to stop Celtic from moving the ball so freely.
Of course, this is largely a different Livi side to the team that took two 0-0 draws against us last season. Scott Pittman, a star performer in both of those draws, is sidelined. That will leave both Robbie Crawford and Marvin Bartley as the likely midfield candidates.
Steven Lawless and Aymen Souda could be used to support Robinson. However, Livi’s chances of making the ball stick up top have decreased with Dykes’highly- probable omission.
It would’ve been interesting to see how big Christopher Jullien in particular performed against a player with the physical traits that Dykes clearly has. You have to seriously fancy both he and Kristoffer Ajer to dominate the aerial duel between themselves and Robinson. Had it been Dykes, it would’ve been a lot tougher.
Of course, Gary Holt could be trying to pull a fast one here. But the truth is, the Livi boss has never been one for over-elaborate mind-games. He often tells things like it is, and it’s not as if Neil Lennon will be too bothered either way.
But should Dykes miss out, it gives us a vastly improved chance of dominating with little threat coming from Livi. They, of course, have players who will be itching to step up like Robinson and Scott Tiffoney. However, if you’re a Celtic defender, you’re afternoon may have gotten a little more stress-free.
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