Between now and the end of the season, every match is simply must win for Celtic. In the Scottish Premiership, they remain third, two points below Rangers and three adrift leaders Hearts, but with both still to play at Parkhead after the split, which gives hope.
Before then, the Hoops will take on St Mirren in the Scottish Cup semi-finals on Sunday, a rematch of December's League Cup Final that they lost 3-1, desperate to avoid déjà vu. Ahead of this visit to Hampden, the biggest decision for Martin O'Neill to ponder is who does he deploy at centre-forward?
Celtic's remaining fixures
- Sunday 19 April. St Mirren - Hampden. Scottish Cup semi-final. Kick off 2pm.
- Saturday 25 April. Falkirk - Parkhead. Scottish Premiership. Kick off 5:30pm.
- Sunday 3 May. Hibernian - Easter Road. Scottish Premiership. Kick off 12pm.
- Sunday 10 May. Rangers - Parkhead. Scottish Premiership. Kick off 12pm.
- Wednesday 13 May. Motherwell - Fir Park. Scottish Premiership. Kick off 8pm.
- Saturday 16 May. Heart of Midlothian - Parkhead. Scottish Premiership. Kick off 12:30pm.
- Saturday 23 May. Potential Scottish Cup Final vs Dunfermline Athletic or Falkirk. Kick off 3pm.
Last Saturday, also against St Mirren, it was Tomáš Čvančara who led the line, but the Czechia international did not impress. He touched the ball a miserly 17 times and saw his solitary shot saved by Shamal George, before being hooked shortly after the hour mark. The man who replaced him was Kelechi Ịheanachọ; the Nigerian had been the hero a week earlier, scoring the late winner against Dundee at Dens to keep their title hopes alive on Easter weekend.
The 29 year old's season in Scotland has been completely derailed by injuries, hence why he has accumulated just 709 minutes across all competitions. Between 26 October and 22 March, a period in which the club changed manager four times, he racked up just six minutes in the Premiership.
Nevertheless, when he has been on the park, Ịheanachọ's quality has been clear to see. He scored during two of his first three league appearances against Kilmarnock and Motherwell, as well as breaking the deadlock at the Marakana against Crvena zvezda in the Europa League. Thus, now fit again, hoping that remains the case, he could be a key asset in the run-in. So, how do his Celtic stats compare to those of Čvančara?
Tomáš Čvančara vs Kelechi Ịheanachọ Celtic statstics
Statistics | Tomáš Čvančara | Kelechi Ịheanachọ |
|---|---|---|
Minutes | 778 | 709 |
Appearances | 13 | 17 |
Goals | 2 | 4 |
Assists | 2 | 1 |
Expected goals | 4.31 | 5.45 |
Big chances missed | 5 | 8 |
Big chances created | 1 | 3 |
Shots | 15 | 19 |
Shots on target | 7 | 9 |
% of touches in the box | 18.38% | 22.16% |
In a very similar number of minutes across all competitions in hoops, the pair's statistics are remarkably similar; both are generally pretty underwhelming! Ịheanachọ does have more goals to his name as well as a higher xG figure, having had more shots, albeit the Nigerian has missed eight big chances to Čvančara's five.
Almost a quarter of Ịheanachọ's touches have come in the opposition's penalty area, showing that he offers a presence in the box, but not a whole lot else. So, in summary, there is no ideal solution. Gone are the days when Ange Postecoglou was having to leave golden boot winner Giorgos Giakoumakis in reserve because had also boasted Kyōgo Furuhashi.
Nevertheless, on balance, Ịheanachọ should probably get the nod at Hampden as well as going forward, fitness permitting, as he has shown more glimpses of quality. On the flip side, the club are unlikely to be paying the £7 million option to buy Čvančara permanently from Borussia Mönchengladbach, or at least they shouldn't.
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