In the midst of an action-packed winter period for Celtic, many could be forgiven for writing off the insignificance of our final European tie at home to Real Betis next Thursday at Parkhead.
Nailed on to be playing twice a week between now and our Glasgow Derby clash against Rangers in the new year, this encounter may actually present the Celts with a massive opportunity of sorts.
Doubtlessly, fatigue will be a factor that will set in between now and the mid-season break, as Celtic seek crucial league results in order to keep pace with our city rivals. Moreover, the small matter of the Premier Sports Cup final against Hibernian on the 19th of December will also take key precedence.
In light of this, our final Europa League clash of the campaign may be the perfect opportunity to rest important players, alongside providing the perfect platform to sharpen up some of our fringe stars.
In particular, individuals such as David Turnbull, Kyogo Furuhashi, Liel Abada, and Anthony Ralston could do with a rest after playing a lot of football in recent weeks. Whereas the likes of James McCarthy, Mikey Johnston, and Albian Ajeti may well need game time to cope with the rigorous intensity of the winter schedule.
Putting on an assured display in front of a full Celtic Park against one of the top sides in the La Liga Santander would be a nice way to round off the Europa League campaign. Nonetheless, fielding a much-changed eleven next Thursday may prove more favorable to Ange Postecoglou as he targets silverware in 2021/22.
