Tomoki Iwata has been given the biggest opportunity of his Celtic career as he starts against Rangers at Ibrox.
With Callum McGregor failing to fully recover from an Achilles injury suffered against Dundee in February, the Scottish midfielder makes the bench.
With Iwata impressing in McGregor’s absence, today’s Glasgow derby presents the Japanese midfielder with the chance to showcase his class and determination against a partisan crowd, with no Celtic fans in attendance.
Despite playing the same position as McGregor, Iwata tends to focus more on shielding the back four and less on attacking, which means that he brings greater defensive awareness but also less attacking output.
Iwata does, however, thrive on winning the ball in turn allowing Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate to get further forward without concern of being caught on counter attacks.
With Today’s match the biggest test of his Celtic career by far; it is truly a sink-or-swim moment for Iwata.
Brendan Rodgers has shown faith in him, and having won the J-League Player of the Year in 2022, today could be the moment that we see just how much Iwata can rise to the occasion when it matters most.
