Celtic travel to St Johnstone tomorrow evening looking to maintain their perfect Scottish Premiership start under Brendan Rodgers.
Rodgers will reveal more about availability at some point today in his press conference, where there are bound to be questions over fitness and potential rotation amid the Bhoys’ trip to Borussia Dortmund next Tuesday.
The mood music from the Celtic camp has been calm ahead of facing managerless St Johnstone after they parted ways with Craig Levein last week.
Callum McGregor has indicated that the Hoops’ plan is to ‘dominate’ at McDiarmid Park, with another important three points on the line.
There is also the small matter of potentially breaking a 118-year clean sheet record if Kasper Schmeichel can emerge unblemished on Saturday evening. Before that, here are some key selection calls Rodgers will need to consider ahead of locking horns with St Johnstone.
Cameron Carter-Vickers and Alistair Johnston’s condition
After the Bhoys progressed in cup action against Falkirk last week, Rodgers gave an injury update on Cameron Carter-Vickers’ and Alistair Johnston’s absences, revealing they have both been playing through injections.
He said: “Cam is injured, so he wouldn’t have played anyway. We’ve been nursing him on a foot problem that he’s had for a little while, and the same with Ali.
“Ali, he had an injection to calm down some inflammation he’s had, so he wouldn’t have been available today either. So those two enforced.
Later, he added on Carter-Vickers: “He’s had an issue with his foot, and he’s been getting some injections for that. And we felt that the game during the week there, he is just so brave and so courageous, he wants to play and put himself out there, but we have to make sure we look after him as well because it’s a long season.”
In the fullness of time, supporters will find out whether Johnston and Carter-Vickers are fit to face St Johnstone. Should both be rested with Borussia Dortmund to come, you would imagine Anthony Ralston and Auston Trusty retain their places in the starting line-up.
The Celtic key calls from middle to front
This is where it may get interesting for Celtic. By all accounts, Paulo Bernardo’s recent form warrants more airtime, but who does the Portugal Under-21 international replace if he does play?
Reo Hatate could be a candidate for a rest before taking on last year’s Champions League finalists next week. However, his creative influence is hard to replace in the engine room. With McGregor and Arne Engels nailing themselves on as key cogs in midfield, it may be a toss-up between the other two.
Luke McCowan returns after being cup-tied last weekend and is another in the frame due to his positive start to life at Celtic.
Out wide, Daizen Maeda and Nicolas Kuhn appear to be first choices alongside James Forrest. Minutes are there to be distributed amid a heavy fixture schedule, so there may be room for change on the flanks too.
Hyunjun Yang shouldn’t be counted out following a promising cameo against Falkirk, while Luis Palma will be hungry for another chance to shine.
Through the middle, Adam Idah would feel hard done by if his brace last week fell on deaf ears. On the same token, Kyogo Furuhashi was given an afternoon off in the cup, so may come back into contention after netting against Slovan Bratislava.
Celtic won’t take St Johnstone lightly despite what is to come in Europe. Three points are vital, so let’s hope the manager inspires another three points with his selection!
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