Ange Postecoglou makes huge Celtic double decision

The winter break is finally over and Celtic are back in action. Ange Postecoglou’s side will take on Hibernian less than a month after the two teams met in the Scottish League Cup final. The Hoops will have happier memories of that occasion as they came from a goal behind to seal a 2-1 win and lift the first trophy of the season, thanks to a stunning brace from Kyogo Furuhashi.

That is one big worry for Celtic going into this game though as Kyogo is not even in the squad as it is clear that he has not recovered from his injury. It had looked like he was on the road to fitness but had to be brought off again in the final game before the winter break. Nir Bitton is another one not involved today.

On the other hand, Postecoglou has taken a big decision and handed Celtic debuts to Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate, both of whom are starting in the game against Hibernian. But an even bigger boost is the fact that Jota is finally back, and on the bench. Also, James Forrest is starting.

Celtic tweeted out their line up from the day:

Postecoglou hands Celtic debuts but Kyogo misses out

It will be interesting to see how Maeda and Hatate do against Hibernian. They are Celtic’s two big signings of the January transfer window.

On the other hand, it will also be worth watching whether Jota comes on at some point. He has been out of action with an injury, that he picked up in early December, for a while and thus, it might be a good idea to gradually bring him back into the fold, which is what Celtic appear to be doing.

This is going to be an exciting match to say the least. Let’s hope the Hoops come out on top.