It’s been a tough few weeks for Celtic on the injury front but it’s back to full throttle just in time for the Scottish Cup.
The Hoops won’t settle for anything but a Treble now with the League Cup already in the bag and a virtually unassailable lead over Rangers in the Premiership. The biggest hurdle standing in their way is now the route to Hampden in their bid to win this famous trophy for the third time on the spin.
They’re facing a Kilmarnock team that know all about an upset. They dealt the Hoops their first defeat of the second Brendan Rodgers era in the League Cup last season and Celtic will be determined not to allow a Cupset on their turf – particularly as they sting from dropped points against Dundee. It’s set to be a Celtic team out with a point to prove and that’s dangerous going for any opponent.
The news doesn’t get much better for Kilmarnock on the team news front either. In recent weeks Kyogo has had to fill a gap out wide but Nicolas Kuhn made his return off the bench against Dundee, and Rodgers confirmed in the buildup to this one that Daizen Maeda is back and ready to go. And that means it’s likely to be a full-throttle Celtic XI as they hunt down the third prong of their Treble ambitions.
Asked for an injury update, Rodgers said: “We’ve only got James Forrest missing, so everyone back and available, which is great. Maeda is fully ready to go. I think the for him, it probably felt more like a little circuit breaker for him as opposed to a long injury.
“It was just something, hasn’t been out so long. So, I just watched him and training this week, he’s been he’s so good. So he’s ready and available to start if we need that.”
Predicted Celtic XI
Kuhn and Maeda’s availability gives Rodgers the option of returning Kyogo to his usual position and that can only spell good news with Adam Idah in the firing line recently for some sub-par performances. He did hint that Maeda may only start if they need it, so Yang could just as easily slot in. But given what’s at stake, there’s every reason to thing Rodgers will use every weapon in his arsenal.
Callum McGregor is a guaranteed starter in midfield but it could be any two of four alongside him. Engels made a difference off the bench against Dundee so seems likely to join him but there isn’t much to split Reo Hatate, Luke McCowan and Paulo Bernardo. We’ve gone McCowan off the back of his recent scoring form.
Provisional Celtic squad
Goalkeepers
- Kasper Schmeichel
- Viljami Sinisalo
- Scott Bain
Defenders
- Alistair Johnston
- Anthony Ralston
- Auston Trusty
- Cameron Carter-Vickers
- Liam Scales
- Maik Nawrocki
- Dane Murray
- Greg Taylor
- Alex Valle
Midfielders
- Callum McGregor
- Luke McCowan
- Odin Holm
- Paulo Bernardo
- Reo Hatate
- Arne Engels
- Luis Palma
- Yang
Forwards
- Nicolas Kuhn
- Daizen Maeda
- Kyogo
- Adam Idah
- Johnny Kenny