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Celtic vs. Ross County: Dembele back in Starting XI for Bhoys

By Andrew Coppens

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - NOVEMBER 27: Moussa Dembele of Celtic scores Celtic's 3rd goal from the penalty spot during the Betfred Cup Final between Aberdeen FC and Celtic FC at Hampden Park on November 27, 2016 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - NOVEMBER 27: Moussa Dembele of Celtic scores Celtic's 3rd goal from the penalty spot during the Betfred Cup Final between Aberdeen FC and Celtic FC at Hampden Park on November 27, 2016 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images) /
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Celtic got destroyed by PSG in mid-week Champions League action, and the 5-0 loss was hard to swallow for many watching and playing in the match as well.

So, as the Bhoys return to domestic action on the weekend it will be huge to see how the lads respond to what happened to them. Will manager Brendan Rodgers continue to rotate his squad in the hopes of keeping everyone fresh?

He hasn’t given any indication that the squad is anything less than focused on the match ahead, telling the Belfast Telegraph his side know what the domestic form means to them.

"“The players were great in training and very focused on the next game. You are always preparing for the next game in football. Ross County will be a difficult game, a different challenge for us. But we go into it with the same ideas, to look to win the match. It is still very early on in the season but we have started the league campaign very well and we want it to continue.”"

How Celtic decide to line up against Ross County will be telling, so let’s dive in to the Starting XI’s as they are announced.

Celtic Starting XI:

Ross County Starting XI: 

Analysis:

Well, consider this lineup a huge surprise.

It appears that Rodgers is going to try something that hasn’t been tried since last season — a lineup that features both Leigh Griffiths and Moussa Dembele in the striker positions.

Our guess is that Dembele plays a bit of a dropped-off striker to help link play in attack. Dembele is also returning after nearly two months away from the game due to injury and is making his first start in league play.

We also see Mikael Lustig get the full match off, as Anthony Ralston keeps his place on the right side while Nir Bitton will man the middle and Jozo Simunovic will slot in to the left side of midfield.

It will be interesting to see how Celtic’s midfield shapes up with no Scott Sinclair for a match. Without him we’ll see Dembele and Griffiths playing much different roles up front, but we’ll also see Stuart Armstrong and Tom Rogic in the same midfield.

Jonny Hayes also gets a start for the Hoops and so does James Forrest, so we’ll have to see how those two players intertwine on the day.

Overall, Celtic need to continue a pattern of resting players and rotating the squad in league play. Will it come back to bit the club though?

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