Celtic are back on league duty tonight as they face Hearts in Glasgow before heading through to Tynecastle on Saturday in the Scottish Cup.
Wednesday nights game shall be Ange Postecoglou’s 100th game in charge of the Hoops and he has indicated that he may make some changes after the weekend trip to Paisley which his side won 5-1 thanks to a thrilling second half performance [Daily Record].
Sunday’s win was Celtic’s 25th domestic match unbeaten and they will look to retain their nine point advantage at the top of the table.
Celtic and Hearts have already met twice this season, and the affair at Tynecastle in October got a lot of attention due to the shambolic refereeing performance on display. It was the weekend when VAR was first introduced into Scottish football and the Hoops had to overcome bad decisions to win the game 4-3.
Joe Hart – The Hoops keeper is always the first name on the clean sheet and will be frustrated not to have kept a clean sheet at the weekend after the Buddies were awarded a penalty.
Anthony Ralston – There could be a spot for Ralston in the starting line up as the fullback is in need of game time having not played for Celtic since December. Alistair Johnston has been absolutely excellent but the manager may want to keep him fresh for Saturday.
Cameron Carter-Vickers – He was solid at the back for Celtic at the weekend and produced a real moment of comedy when Postecoglou made fun of his poorly attempted pass.
Carl Starfelt – This will be the first time that the Swede has got to face off against the Jambos this season and will likely start the match.
Greg Taylor – Taylor got the winner the last time both sides met and would love to again be on the scoresheet tonight.
Callum McGregor – The captain knows how difficult these battles can be and will have his side right up for this game.
Reo Hatate – He was a bit quiet on Sunday but can always produce something special and will likely start in midfield. He is undoubtedly an early contender for player of the year.
Matt O’Riley – The midfielder notched his first league goal of the season and may come in for Aaron Mooy who was terrific yet again on Sunday. If either starts tonight, they might not start the match on Saturday but will be effective from the bench nonetheless.
Liel Abada – Having been subbed on at half time in Paisley, he made a real difference for Postecoglou’s side against St Mirren and was on the scoresheet.
Kyogo Furuhashi – Although he didn’t manage to get on the scoresheet, the 28-year-old will be looking to hit his 25th goal of the season having scored against Hearts the last time they visited Celtic Park.
Sead Haksabanovic – The winger is also in need of some minutes and it would be of no surprise if Postecoglou wanted to keep Jota fresh for the visit to Tynecastle. Both will impact the game in some way or another.
