Celtic will look to begin their Premiership title defence on a high note, when they welcome Jim Goodwin’s Aberdeen side to Parkhead on Flag Day. It could turn out to be a tight game between the two, as both have showcased some very good form in recent times. The Hoops did not lose a single game in pre-season while the Dons have gotten some big results recently as well.
Of course, one would have to consider Celtic as the favourites on the day. They are the defending champions and have home advantage on the day as well. But Aberdeen look like a side who are very much capable of springing a surprise. Thus, the Hoops will need to be careful.
Unfortunately, for Celtic, they will be without two players against Aberdeen. The first is Carl Starfelt, who had gotten injured while representing the Sweden national team and did not play a single minute of football in pre-season. The second is Yosuke Ideguchi, who picked up an injury recently.
GIGPOD tweeted out comments from Ange Postecoglou about the duo ahead of the game against Aberdeen:
đź—Ł Ange: Starfelt is the only definite no for Sunday, other than Ideguchi.
— GIGPOD (@gigpod) July 29, 2022
Everyone else is available.
Celtic duo will miss opening game against Aberdeen
Starfelt is expected to be a big miss against Aberdeen. He was the starting centre-back for Celtic last season alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers and in his absence, the defence did look shaky in pre-season. Stephen Welsh is expected to start in his place, while Moritz Jenz could be a potential option as well.
On the other hand, while Ideguchi has not played a lot of football for Celtic, there were hopes that he could turn around his Parkhead career this season after a slow start since arriving in January. But luck just does not seem to be on his side at the moment.
Celtic do have quite some depth in their squad this season though and should be able to put out a strong starting XI vs Aberdeen.