Celtic return to action this afternoon with Dundee the visitors to Paradise. The Scottish Champions began the month with a win over Rangers at Ibrox and the club will want the feel-good factor to remain with a win against the Dens Park club.
Brendan Rodgers said that the draw to St Johnstone crystallised a number of areas that the squad needed to improve upon. The team then followed that up by going to Ibrox and getting the win thanks to Kyogo’s strike. Now, the Irishman will be hoping that the team can build upon this result and return all three points.
Team News
Celtic go into the game with their injury worries somewhat eased with Reo Hatate, Mikey Johnston and Nat Phillips returning to the fold. Unfortunately, Liel Abada suffered an injury on International duty which will see him ruled out for 3-4 months. Cameron Carter-Vickers, Maik Nawrocki and Stephen Welsh remain out injured.
Marco Tilio is back training along with Yuki Kobayashi and Mikey Johnston but the trio are not expected to be involved yet. Rodgers will have Tuesday’s game against Feyenoord in Rotterdam on his mind; however, he will be keen to bring players in ahead of the congested fixture run.
Joe Hart will start in the nets. The Englishman was excellent in the win at Ibrox and provided a calming influence to the backline.
In defence, expect Nat Phillips to start following his arrival from Liverpool on a loan deal. The English defender will likely be joined by Gustaf Lagerbielke but following his MOTM performance at Ibrox, Liam Scales is a tough player to drop. Greg Taylor and Alistair Johnston will likely start in the full-back berths.
Skipper Callum McGregor started both of Scotland’s games but he will anchor the midfield. Expect Matt O’Riley to be in there beside McGregor with Reo Hatate returning to the side. The Japanese star will likely only feature for an hour or so with David Turnbull and Odin Thiago Holm keen for minutes, too.
In attack, expect Yang to come in for the injured Abada with Daizen Maeda on the left. In the central role, Kyogo is the obvious choice but the manager might consider starting Oh given the amount of games and to get the South Korean hitman’s sharpness up.
Predicted XI: Hart; Johnston, Phillips, Lagerbielke, Taylor; McGregor, O’Riley, Hatate; Yang, Kyogo, Maeda.
Match Officials
Grant Irvine being confirmed as the man in the middle. Irvine is assisted by Dougie Potter and David Dunne with Iain Snedden acting as Fourth Official. Across at Clydesdale House, Steven Kirkland is on VAR with Gary Hilland on AVAR.
Kick Off Time
The game will kick off at 3pm (Celtic Park Time).
Where to Watch
The game will not be on TV but will be available on Celtic TV for subscribers outside Britain and Ireland.
And our predicted score? Celtic 4 Dundee 0.
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