Ange Postecoglou’s side will be looking to bounce back from defeat in Europe when Mark McGhee’s Dundee arrive at Celtic Park tomorrow afternoon. Having been appointed during the week, ex-Celt McGhee was present at Celtic Park on Thursday and watched on as Celtic were defeated 3-1. However, he will know full well that the league leaders will be fired up to record all three points.
There is also the added task of travelling to the Arctic Circle on Thursday coming as they look to reverse the damage done in the first leg. With that in mind, the manager will need to be pragmatic with his subs and know that he needs to spread the workload.
In goals, Joe Hart will continue in goals. He faced four shots on target on Thursday but was helpless for all three of the goals that went in.
In defence, the manager will likely go with the defensive pairing of Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers with Josip Juranovic and Greg Taylor on the left. Taylor was poor against the Norwegians but the manager obviously trusts him and will want to show that trust by retaining him in the team.
In midfield, captain Callum McGregor will want to show the players are still the best team in the country and lead from the front. You would expect the manager to recall Reo Hatate in one of the No.8 roles. Tom Rogic will likely be in the other slot.
The manager could reward James Forrest with a starting slot after neither Jota nor Abada really found their rhythm on Thursday night. Daizen Maeda was making runs through the centre but he wasn’t serviced, although you can see him starting on the left. Giorgos Giakoumakis has been impressive, he should be hoping to start the game.
Celtic were well beaten by Bodø/Glimt in the Europa Conference League as the Norwegian Champions made sure that Ange Postecoglou’s side couldn’t find their flow under the lights at Paradise. The visitors exploited Celtic’s weaknesses down the left-hand side for two goals whilst the third came from a wicked deflection. Dundee are arriving at Celtic Park at the worst possible time, despite a run of two wins in a row for The Dee, Celtic will be looking to bounce back emphatically against the visitors and prove that Thursday night was a blip.
