Celtic will return to action this weekend after the winter break to take on Buckie Thistle in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup. Having suffered an early elimination from the League Cup and having to see the Rangers win it, the Hoops will surely want to avoid a repeat of that. They will be overwhelming favourites on the day but the result of no football match should be considered a foregone conclusion.
Celtic have had their tough patches through the course of the season. It feels like they have never really found their best under the management of Brendan Rodgers in the ongoing campaign.
That being said, their recent results have been promising. They even won the Glasgow Derby before the winter break, despite being underdogs on the day against an in-form Rangers side.
Now, Celtic will hopefully build on those good results and go on a solid run of form. They will be without two key players when they take on Buckie Thistle this weekend though.
Rodgers rules two Celtic players out of weekend game
Nicolas Kuhn has been Celtic's only signing of the January transfer window till now. He won't make his debut for the club against Buckie Thistle though. As reported by The Scotsman, Rodgers said:
"Nic won’t be involved at the weekend.
“He had actually been quite a period out. He had an operation on his teeth so he lost a bit of strength. But he will be okay for Ross County."
Another player who won't take part this weekend is Cameron Carter-Vickers, who has had more than his fair share of fitness issues in recent times. Rodgers said about the situation of the defender:
"Cam won’t be involved this weekend but by Ross County he will be fine."
Of course, Carter-Vickers is one of Celtic's most important players. Fans will not only want to see him back on the pitch as soon as possible but they also hope that he is able to find his fitness and play consistently without getting injured again.
On the other hand, there is quite a bit of interest about Kuhn and what the former Bayern Munich player will bring to the table for Celtic. He impressed at Rapid Vienna in the first half of the season but this is a different ball game altogether.