Neil Lennon will be very tempted to make wholesale changes to his Celtic side for this Wednesday’s Betfred Cup quarter-final clash against Partick Thistle.
The Championship strugglers, now managed by Ian McCall, make the short jaunt to Parkhead for the midweek clash in what should be a pretty straightforward home win.
However their chances of an unlikely upset may increase if Lennon does decide to shuffle his pack. Is that a risk worth taking for the Northern Irishman?
Celtic are going for a fourth successive Betfred Cup
The derby clash is the middle of seven matches squeezed into a hectic period between two international breaks. Lennon’s men have attained positive results in their three clashes so far and Thistle looks like the easiest on paper.
The amount of options we have at our disposal makes the prospect of changes yet more tantalising. Tom Rogic and Greg Taylor are just two of the stars that fans will hope to catch a glimpse of. Both need game time for various reasons while so do the likes of Leigh Griffiths and Daniel Arzani.
But resting/dropping his top players is always going to be a risk for Lennon, especially when there’s no second chances in cup competitions. The Northern Irishman has relied on the likes of Odsonne Edouard, James Forrest and Ryan Christie so far this season and the Hoops team would be weaker without that trio.
Scott Brown and Callum McGregor are two others who could do with a rest but with a fourth successive treble still attainable – is it a risk worth taking?
Lennon will want to win the Betfred Cup. That goes without saying. But when the chance comes around to freshen things up for a game like Wednesday’s then surely he can’t afford to resist. We should still have enough on our books to dispatch Thistle comfortably, even without McGregor, Edouard and Forrest.
But in cup competition you’re always taking a chance. Look what nearly happened against Dunfermline in the last round.
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