NEIL LENNON named Scott Bain ahead of Vasilis Barkas for tonight’s game versus Sparta Prague at Celtic Park. The Greek Internationalist was a marquee signing from AEK Athens, arriving for £4.5m to replace both Craig Gordon and Fraser Forster as the main candidate for Celtic number one.
A shoulder injury before Celtic’s 3-3 draw versus Aberdeen lead to Bain getting the gloves and subsequent performances against Lille and Aberdeen resulted in him being retained as Celtic’s first choice keeper. However, Neil Lennon will be concerned due to the presence of Bain in the Celtic goals, representing a sharp decrease from the imposing figure of Fraser Forster.
Forster decided against returning to Celtic, favouring his £90k-a-week gig at Southampton and a crack at Premier League football again. However, Alex McCarthy has retained the gig for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team meaning that the former England Internationalist is sitting on the bench.
Celtic are chasing a historic tenth consecutive title and Forster has been in goals for four of the nine years, proving just how good he can be in famous wins against Barcelona, Lazio and Rangers – to name a few. Forster’s presence at the back was reassuring and confident. His frame was domineering and covered the goal but he made saves when it mattered. Any mistakes that Celtic made outfield, there was almost an expectation that the Englishman would tip the ball past the post.
Three goals were conceded, three goals that should be avoided. Defensively, Celtic have been very poor and every time a depleted Sparta Prague went forward, they looked threatening. The central defensive woes will be eased when Jullien and Ajer return but this has been very poor.
