What positives could Celtic take out of the 4-1 loss to Sparta Prague on Thursday night? Well, Leigh Griffiths scored. Diego Laxalt played well as he almost always does. Also, Hatem Elhamed continued his return to the Celtic side after suffering from Covid-19.
It is fair to say that Elhamed, who hasn’t played that much football in the last month, looked a bit rusty when he came on during the second-half. However, he is low down on the list of people who deserve to be blamed for the defeat and shoddy performance.
A boost when club needs one
Indeed, it is a return that can be considered timely. Celtic need all the help they can get at the moment. The availability of the £1.6m player is certainly a boost.
It seems certain that when Celtic head to Fir Park on Sunday in what is now a huge 90 minutes against Motherwell that Elhamed will start the game.
He could play in a three at the back, like he did against Prague. Or, more likely, he could play in a back four, but not at right-back, but as a centre-half.
It would not be a surprise to see Elhamed play alongside Nir Bitton, with Shane Duffy dropping out of the side. Duffy has been very poor for Celtic recently, and it would probably do the player good to be left out for a game or two.
Elhamed and Bitton might not have played together at centre-back ever. However, they will obviously be familiar with each other from international duty.
Yet to lose on domestic duty
It should also be remembered that Elhamed has yet to lose a domestic game whilst playing for Celtic. So there’s another reason he should feature against Motherwell.
To get the three points at Fir Park, Neil Lennon will need his players to stand-up and be counted. Elhamed has done that before, against the likes of Lazio and Rangers.
His return could be a real boost for Celtic when the club is desperately in need of one.
In other news, read the three changes Neil Lennon must make to solve Celtic’s current problems.
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