Ange made a seismic call to drop Nir Bitton for Stephen Welsh last time out against Dundee – and despite the attacking excellence that was shown on the pitch on Sunday, the key thing to point out was Celtic’s first clean sheet since May in competitive football; meaning the team stays as it is bar one for the visit of Czech side FK Jablonec.
Joe Hart made his debut against the Stadion Strelnice side, and having impressed in Celtic colours so far, alongside the omission of Vasilias Barkas from Postecoglou’s plans, it was silly to suggest anything else would happen than Hart take the goalkeeper jersey.
Anthony Ralston will continue his magnificent (and surprising) form at right-back, given that Celtic have yet to sign a replacement for the Glaswegian. Reports have continued to form a link between Celtic and numerous players for that berth, including Josip Juranovic, however nothing has come to fruition yet and Ralston may even continue his scoring spree tonight. Carl Starfelt, Stephen Welsh and Greg Taylor partner him in a four-man defence.
In midfield, the Bhoys’ will look to dominate possession against a side that are incredibly weak defensively; and having started in the rout over Dundee, a ball-dominant engine room of Callum McGregor, David Turnbull and Tom Rogic will start. Rogic and Turnbull will be expected to pull the strings of the Jablonec defence, whilst Captain Callum will clean up any mess behind them and instigate attacks from deep, starving the Czechs’ of the ball.
Wing wizards James Forrest and Ryan Christie will be the outlets tonight as Christie looks to continue the red-hot form he has started this season with, and Forrest especially looking to force his way back into the starting XI. Hopefully fans will sing Christie’s name in a bid to get him to sign a new contract.
And finally, the new hero in town Kyogo Furuhashi will be the man to fire Celtic to the play-off round against AZ Alkmaar. Already as popular as half of the players, fans will surely cook Kyogo a chant up from the North Curve tonight – especially if he scores.
📣 𝙇𝙚𝙩'𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙃𝙊𝙔𝙎! 🟢⚪️
Your Hoops starting line-up for #CELFKJ ✅#UEL | #COYBIG 🍀 pic.twitter.com/ZCKE5xzC0j
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) August 12, 2021
On the bench are the usual culprits; notably Odsonne Edouard, who we could be seeing for the last time in a Celtic shirt if he doesn’t decide to run his contract down with the club.
The game isn’t available in the UK and Ireland on Celtic TV – although the club are doing a pay-per-view on the game for £10.
📺 𝙄𝘾𝙔𝙈𝙄 – A Pay-Per-View service for tonight’s match will be available from StreamDigital – priced £9.99!@CelticTV subscribers can also watch on Celtic TV (excluding CZ). The match is NOT on @CelticFCPass ❌
Purchase link below (UK & IRE only) ⬇️#UEL | #COYBIG 🍀
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) August 12, 2021
It’s bound to be an emotional one – come on Celtic!
