It can be argued that Celtic have missed the presence of Olivier Ntcham in the Hoops side in recent games. Ntcham has not featured for the Hoops since coming off after an hour in the first leg of the Europa League last 32 clash with Copenhagen.
Unfortunately, he missed the second leg of the tie, which the Hoops lost 3-1 to crash out of Europe, and has not featured for the Hoops in the resulting games against St Johnstone and Livingston, both of which were a struggle at times for the side.
The encouraging aspect of Ntcham’s absence is that before the second leg against Copenhagen Neil Lennon told the Celtic Twitter account that the Frenchman, who the Hoops signed for £4.5 million from Manchester City, would only be out of action for around a week.
It would be a real boost if he returned to the side for the trip to Ibrox next Sunday.
Set to return to training next week
The good news regarding a potential Ntcham derby appearance is that Neil Lennon disclosed on Friday that the midfielder is hoping to return to training next week.
It should not be forgotten about that Celtic’s recent excellent run of domestic form featured Ntcham in the middle of the Hoops midfield, where he and Callum McGregor almost took turns getting forward to support the attacking duo of Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths.
Hoops haven’t looked as fluid without player in side
The Hoops haven’t look as fluid without Ntcham in the side. That is why his return to the starting lineup of the Celtic side can’t come soon enough.
Would it be a gamble to start Ntcham at Ibrox after he has been out of action for a few weeks? Maybe. However, a win for Celtic, or even probably a draw, would all but clinch the league title for the Hoops.
He has been playing so well recently that he is worth taking a gamble on. Hopefully Ntcham is fit enough to help the midfield to what could be another great day for the Hoops at Ibrox.
How badly have Celtic missed Olivier Ntcham? Should he return to the Hoops starting line-up for the match against Rangers next week? Share your thoughts below with a comment in our new discussion forum…
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