Brendan Rodgers will be relieved to have the majority of his Celtic stars return from the international break in one piece.
Kasper Schmeichel picked up an injury on Denmark duty which is always the risk when allowing players to play for their country. And that will be a frustration for the manager.
The Dane was criticised for his showing vs Portugal but he has been a record-chaser for Celtic this term and has limited deputy Viljami Sinisalo to just one outing in the Scottish Cup.
The Finn, 23, will play this weekend at home to Hearts and he has the opportunity to show what he can do to really pile the pressure on his teammate and give Rodgers something to think about moving forward.
Maik Nawrocki could start for Celtic in place of Auston Trusty
At the back there’s still the unanswered question regarding Maik Nawrocki’s chances of starting after his Rangers performance with Auston Trusty’s fitness levels not yet known.
Rodgers will likely have an answer later today in his press conference but we suspect Nawrocki will keep his place alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Daizen Maeda is always an option in the wide areas or through the middle with Adam Idah out of favour right now. But the Irishman staked his claim with a goal scoring show for Ireland against Bulgaria last Sunday.
Jota and Nicolas Kuhn are always the go-to when Maeda plays up top but there’s one more big question for Rodgers to answer and that pertains to captain Callum McGregor.
Celtic predicted XI vs Hearts
The skipper was missed against Rangers as Celtic lost 3-2 in their most recent Scottish Premiership fixture as his influence on the pitch is always significant.
A calf problem ruled him out of even being on the bench for the Glasgow derby so it remains to be seen if he will be available vs the Jambos at Celtic Park. We reckon he might be.
Paulo Bernardo is back on the grass and could be on the bench.
- Celtic predicted XI: Sinisalo, Johnston, CCV, Nawrocki, Taylor, McGregor, Engels, Hatate, Jota, Kuhn, Maeda.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
