Celtic kick-off their pre-season this evening with a match against SC Wiener Viktoria at 17.30.
It’s been great seeing clips of players returning to training after the summer break and getting preparations underway for the new season to begin with the Hoops opening competitive game at the end of July against Aberdeen.
Ange Postecoglou has already been fast off the mark in the transfer market with the club having already signed five players on permanent contracts with stars such as Maeda, Jota and Carter-Vickers committing their future to the club.
Friendly fixtures can be difficult to judge players in but there is always a want to see new arrivals feature as well as younger players be given a chance.
These are my top three things that I’d hope to see from today’s fixture:
New Bhoys in Action
It would be great to see some of our new permanent signings feature at some point in today’s match. We know all about Carter-Vickers and Jota but there will be something special to once again see them play for the Hoops knowing they are here to stay. I’m also excited to see what Alexandro Bernabei can bring to the side and it would be great if he could get some minutes. The Argentinian fullback will be pretty much game ready having already kicked-off the season with Lanús before making the move to Scotland.
Young Celtic Prospects
There is a contingent of players from the Celtic B team who have made the trip to Austria and it would be great to see them feature. Bosun Lawal, Josh Dede, Matthew Anderson, Ben Summers, Owen Moffat and Rocco Vata have all made the trip with Johnny Kenny and Tobi Oluwayemi also travelling over. There will no doubt be an opportunity for all these players to impress with the international players only returning to training days ago.
Angeball
Under Ange Postecoglou there is a clear identity and philosophy of how he wants his teams to play football. No matter what side is selected for today’s match, it will be interesting to see how our style of football is continuing to develop.
