Celtic vs. Partick Thistle: Starting XI’s and Analysis

Just two matches and four days remain on the Scottish Premiership calendar. For Celtic it means a date with Glasgow rivals Partick Thistle before a potentially large celebration at Paradise on Sunday.

With not much but records to play for until next weekend’s Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen, will manager Brendan Rodgers keep with his squad rotation? It seems likely, especially given the fact that there are two matches so close to each other.

Let’s see how Rodgers chooses to line up for today’s matchup with the longest-standing rivals in Glasgow.

Celtic Starting XI:

Partick Thistle Starting XI:

Analysis:

Rotation is the name of the game here for Celtic, as the squad has five changes in it and sees some players buried deep on the bench getting some final action this season.

Nowhere are the changes more noticeable than at the back line, where regular fullbacks Mikael Lustig and Kieran Tierney are replaced by Cristian Gamboa and Emilio Izaguirre. One other change sees Eric Sviatchenko feature at centerback in place of Jozo Simunovic.

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Last weekend the regular back line was tested in a huge way at Aberdeen. This could be a rotational move, but also one to send a message to a few players about that performance against the Dons.

Captain Scott Brown is back in the fold after serving a two-game suspension and will team up with Callum McGregor in the middle of the park per usual. That duo should help anything funny going on behind them.

Perhaps the biggest change is seeing stalwart Scott Sinclair and Stuart Armstrong on the bench for this one. Instead, Celtic will look to James Forrest on the left side of midfield and give Tom Rogic a full run out at Firhill this evening.

Young defender Anthony Ralston sees his name on the team sheet off the bench and perhaps we’ll see him along with fellow youngster Eboué Kouassi should things go well for Celtic.

Keep in mind, full points tonight tie the record for points in a single Scottish Premiership season. Three goals also keeps Celtic on pace to break the record for most goals in a SPFL season as well.

Can this changed squad keep pace? Rodgers likes to talk about the competitive level of his squad in training, here is the opportunity for those non-regulars to earn more playing time and keep the pressure on the regular starters across the board.