Celtic vs. Hearts: Starting XI’s and analysis

It is here, the Scottish domestic season begins anew and it feels like only yesterday we left you behind.

Celtic take on a side in crisis, as Hearts sacked manager Ian Cathro earlier in the week and star Jamie Walker has been left home as he ponders interest from Sevco. On the other hand, the Bhoys come in to the opener banged up and bruised from a tough tie with Rosenborg in the third round of Champions League qualification.

It sets up an intriguing start to the 2017-18 season and gives both managers a lot to think about in terms of how they present their teams on Saturday afternoon at Celtic Park.

Let’s take a look at the lineups and don’t forget to check out how you can view today’s game across the globe.

Celtic Starting XI:

Hearts Starting XI:

Analysis:

With the news that Erick Sviatchenko is out for at last six weeks, Celtic face a crisis in the middle of defense. Rodgers chose to solve that issue by playing defensive midfielder Nir Bitton next to stalwart Jozo Simunovic.

Those two will see the usual fullback pairing of Mikael Lustig and Kieran Tierney outside of them. Having that stability should be a good thing for Bitton, who hasn’t played a lot of straight defender but has seen time there in preseason friendlies this offseason.

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In the middle of the park, Rodgers has chosen to go with newcomer Olivier Nthcam and youngster Callum McGregor — who will pair up with Scott Brown of course — in the center of the pitch.

James Forrest will move back out to his usual right wing spot as striker Leigh Griffiths is back to full fitness. I’ll be watching down the left wing though, as Scott Sinclair hasn’t been as sharp or been able to poach goals the way he did from early days last season. Can the start of the SPFL campaign get him going in the goal-scoring department?

Perhaps the most interesting part of Celtic’s team sheet is its bench. Rodgers chose to go with a lot of youth, as Kristoff Ajer and Anthony Ralston feature on the bench in defense and Eboue Kouassi is in midfield.

There’s also quality in the likes of Stuart Armstrong and Tom Rogic getting some rest at least for the first part of this match.

Next: Staff Predictions for the SPFL Season

It appears Rodgers is keenly aware of the upcoming fixture congestion and doing all he can to rotate the midfield.