Celtic’s Nir Bitton is a candidate to start in central defence tonight.
Is Nir Bitton the man to solve Celtic’s defensive quandry? The fans certainly hope not.
Manager Brendan Rodgers has lost Jozo Simunovic through injury so either Bitton, Erik Sviatchenko – who hasn’t played in three months – or 19-year-old Kristoffer Ajer will partner Dedryck Boyata at the heart of Celtic’s defence.
Domestically that wouldn’t be a huge issue, because Rodgers has the attacking players to compensate for perceived defensive deficiencies, but they’re playing Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in the Champions League tonight.
Bitton, a centre-midfield by trade, plugged gaps in an unfamiliar centre-back role during the qualifiers as Boyata and Sviatchenko missed out through injury, and did little wrong – especially in the nervy 1-0 win over Rosenborg.
But he has looked far less composed during Premiership outings in defence and fans of the Parkhead club are fearing the worst if Rodgers turns to him again.
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