Celtic kick off the run-in of the final week before a crucial derby game against Rangers with a fixture against Hamilton Accies.

Neil Lennon and his side are looking to kick on from the 2-0 win against Ross County on Wednesday night as they travel to New Douglas Park.

So far this season, it has been a pretty tough task to guess the side that Neil Lennon will go with for tomorrows fixture, after so many changes to the team this season. So we thought we would give it a go.

Predicted Line-ups

GK- Conor Hazard

Neil Lennon will likely continue to find some consistency in this position, having switched between the Irishman, Vasilias Barkas and Scott Bain this season.

After another solid performance midweek, which didn’t really see Hazard tested too much it would probably be a bit of a surprise to see him dropped, so he should continue in net for the game against Accies.

RB- Jeremie Frimpong

Wednesday night was a much-improved performance from the Dutchman, who looked threatening down the right-hand side.

His set-up for the first goal was what he should be doing more often – getting to the byline and putting the ball across. Hopefully, we are seeing the 20-year return to form once again and be more of the same on Saturday.

CB- Christopher Jullien

Since returning from injury, the Frenchman has slowly started to look more like himself again. Some mistakes have crept in but he seems to be winning everything in the air again and with the brilliant delivery of David Turnbull he has started to become a threat at the top end of the park too.

Last time out at the same stadium, Jullien played a key part in the turn around of the game, with a brilliant finish to give Celtic the 2-1 lead which proved to be a crucial three points in the league.

CB- Kristoffer Ajer

The Norwegian has been one of Neil Lennon’s top performers in recent weeks, whether that be at centre-back or right-back.

Going forward, he has played a key part in several attacks and could be key in the attempt to break down what will be a structured, deep Hamilton defence who will look to make it difficult for us.

LB- Greg Taylor

This position could probably go either way but my guess for who Neil Lennon will go with is the Scottish left-back.

Laxalt looked really impressive at the start of his Celtic career, in between a tough spell but has dropped off a little in terms of performance. That’s no slight on the Uruguian who is still a good player and we can hopefully see the return of him soon. However, Taylor is probably the more solid option to go with at the moment.

CDM- Ismalia Soro

Ismaila Soro would be one who definitely starts for me. Scott Brown showed the influence he could have in the first half against Hearts but the Ivorian appears to be the way forward for me.

He may have gone about his business a little quieter the other night but he once again put in a top performance. The defence also has seemed more confident with Soro sitting in front of them in the three games he has featured. It is time to give him a run in the side, in preparation for Ibrox next week.

CM- Callum McGregor

The Scottish international has been a mainstay in the side for years now and I’m sure it will be more of the same on Saturday.

Captaining the side once again, he seems to enjoy the role he plays alongside the likes of Soro and Turnbull. Expect him to be captaining the side again on Boxing Day.

CM- Oliver Ntcham

Ntcham is another one, who could be within a shout of starting but wouldn’t be too surprised to see him on the bench.

The Frenchman returned to the squad on Wednesday and came on as a late sub. Although Christie scored an unbelievable goal last week, I think it would be interesting to see Ntcham in this diamond formation and the impact he could have. With it being on the astroturf pitch though, that may be a factor in where he starts.

CAM- David Turnbull

In the last few fixtures, the former Motherwell man has really staked a claim for his starting position in the side and grabbing the opener the other night can only help that in Neil Lennon’s mind.

Again, a run in the side is exactly what Turnbull needs in the build-up for an important game on January 2nd. His creativity could be crucial in all three up and coming fixtures.

ST- Odsonne Edouard

Looking at the game on Wednesday, it would be fair to say, Edouard should have been on the scoresheet.

To try and spin that into a positive, it does look as though he is slowly getting back to his best again, without scoring. Getting in these positions and linking up with those alongside him. Sometimes when strikers are on a run like this, they just need a scruffy goal to kickstart him once again.

Fingers crossed that comes on Saturday.

ST- Leigh Griffiths

Another goal for Leigh Griffiths – making it two goals in two games – have likely bagged the Celtic number nine a start in the side.

The formation certainly seemed to have positive signs and one of them was the spark within the relationship between Griffiths and Edouard. If we can rekindle that in a similar way that we saw earlier in the year, it could go a long way into getting us back, firing again

This definitely feels like a game for these two to get on the scoresheet.

Score Prediction

Hamilton 0-3 Celtic

 

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