Will Celtic's Scotland quartet start against Livingston on Saturday?

By John Reid

November 21, 2019

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Celtic’s upcoming fixture against Livingston on Saturday is that Neil Lennon will not get to spend much time with some of his key players.

That is because a number of players will be returning from international duty. Four important Celtic players recently played twice for Scotland over the international break, Greg Taylor, Callum McGregor, Ryan Christie and James Forrest. Lewis Morgan was also in the squad, but didn’t play a minute of football.

It was a worthwhile exercise for the quartet, as they helped Scotland to two victories. However, Neil Lennon might not have been best pleased about the quarter starting in games which were relatively meaningless for Scotland.

The players will be back at the club in time to face Livingston in a vital league match on Saturday. The question is how many of the quarter will start that fixture for the Hoops?

A surprise if left-back starts for Hoops

(Photo by Oliver Hardt – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

It would be a surprise if Greg Taylor started. He has made only one start for Celtic so far this season. With Jonny Hayes getting the start in the last two games, you would expect him to keep his place in the team.

As for the other three, Ryan Christie could be rested ahead of the match against Rennes on Thursday. He could be replaced by either Tom Rogic, or perhaps Olivier Ntcham will make his second start in a row.

Duo almost always start for the Bhoys

(Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images)

James Forrest and Callum McGregor will most likely start the game against Livingston. They very rarely drop out of the Celtic team for any reason, no matter how many fixtures they have played. Don’t expect that to change on Saturday.

Therefore, it seems all but certain that two of Celtic’s Scotland quartet will start the game, with Ryan Christie perhaps 50/50 to start. As for Greg Taylor, he may need to wait for his second Celtic start. Hopefully the players have recovered from their international duties, and will be raring to go to keep the Hoops top of the league table.