Former Celtic hero and now pundit Chris Sutton has given his verdict on who he thinks should play in the midfield for his old team in this Sunday’s Glasgow derby.
Sutton, who played in countless classic clashes against Rangers, would only play captain Callum McGregor if he is 100% fit and sharp.
The skipper hasn’t been in action since the end of February in a 7-1 thrashing of Dundee. The Hoops have coped relatively fine without him, but a return this weekend would be a colossal boost ahead of the biggest game of the season.
John Kennedy said after the win over Livingston last Sunday that the 30-year-old would be assessed after returning to training this week but Sutton would have no qualms with starting Tomoki Iwata in the skipper’s absence.
Despite experiencing injury issues earlier in the campaign, the Japanese midfielder has excelled in recent matches, putting in consistent performances in the holding role in the engine room.
Both Iwata and McGregor are capable in the eyes of the Sky Sports man. “Many will say an 80 per cent-fit McGregor is much better than no McGregor at all for the Celtic, but I know from experience that you have to be absolutely bang at it in these games”, he said (RecordSport).
“Even a hint of rust will be found out and exploited and doing work in the gym and on an exercise bike for a month isn’t enough. If he’s flying around in training, fine. Get him straight in there.
“If not, I’d seriously consider Tomoki Iwata as a starter because the return of Hatate is already such a big boost for Rodgers alongside O’Riley, who is always in good form.
“The talent in Celtic’s midfield means they have the vision and the passing ability to spring Celtic’s front three if Rangers do indeed push on.”
