Brendan Rodgers has named his Celtic team for this afternoon’s game against St Mirren. The Scottish Champions can open up a four point gap on their city rivals should they beat the visitors from Paisley.
Celtic go into the game with two fresh injuries- Liam Scales (abductor) and Daizen Maeda (hamstring). Luis Palma has recovered from a calf injury and is available.
In goals, Joe Hart starts.
In defence, Maik Nawrocki replaces Scales to partner Cameron Carter-Vickers in the central pairing. Alistair Johnston and Greg Taylor start in the full back roles.
In midfield, Tomoki Iwata starts at the base of the middle three with Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate further forward. Getting Hatate more game time will see him improve in the final stretch of the season.
In attack, Yang comes in for Maeda to start alongside Nicolas Kuhn and Kyogo.
On the bench: Bain, Lagerbielke, Palma, Idah, Bernardo, McGregor, Forrest, Ralston, Welsh.
Nawrocki now has a chance to stake a claim for that role that Scales has occupied since September. The Polish defender was signed for £4m and will be keen to show his value with a strong showing against the Saints. Another man that will be looking to show the Celtic support his quality is Yang. The South Korean winger was poor defensively in the closing stages last weekend as Rangers snatched an equaliser.
It is the first of six cup finals for Celtic. A win will put pressure on Rangers, who are due to play tomorrow.
