Here’s how we think Celtic will line up when they travel to Perth to take on St Johnstone in the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup.
Celtic will be keen to bounce back from the disappointment of their elimination from the Europa League after a 3-1 defeat at home at the hands of FC Copenhagen. And they can do just that with a convincing win over St Johnstone that will send them into the semi-final of the Scottish Cup.
After Rangers were eliminated from the competition after suffering a 1-0 loss against underdogs Hearts, the path seems clear for Celtic to grab a quadruple treble. With all due respect to the other Scottish clubs, it is Steven Gerrard’s side who pose the most realistic threat to Neil Lennon’s side. They have shown that twice this season already, once in the final at Hampden Park and then in their 2-0 win over the Hoops at Parkhead after a gap of almost 10 years.
Celtic should be able to beat most other Scottish sides even when they are not at the top of their game. As a result, it will be a huge disappointment if they don’t bag the Cup after this. On the league front, they remain 12 points ahead of the Rangers (who have an extra game in hand). Thus, it will take a minor miracle for Rangers to come back and win the league this season, especially in the form they have been in since their return from the winter break.
Thus, Celtic have the opportunity to put their disappointment from Thursday behind them with a win tomorrow. Here’s how we think they should line up:
Fraser Forster
Kris Ajer
Nir Bitton
Christopher Jullien
Scott Brown
Callum McGregor
Ryan Christie
James Forrest
Greg Taylor
Leigh Griffiths
Odsonne Edouard
It was a mistake from Lennon to ditch the 3-5-2 against FC Copenhagen and they paid the price for it. Thus, expect a return to it on Sunday.
Thus, the Edouard-Griffiths duo will be back up top. With Ntcham out, Christie will come in in place of the Frenchman, or maybe even Rogic. And expect Bitton to replace Simunovic after the Croatian’s disastrous performance in midweek.