Celtic must start their best striker against Rangers, despite the form of Odsonne Edouard.
Celtic are planning for the future and have their eye on a permanent deal for Odsonne Edouard.
At the same time, Moussa Dembele could be on his way out, with loanee Edouard his eventual replacement.
This weekend, Celtic should not overthink the present by letting plans for the future seep into their cup semi-final selection.
As it stands Dembele is the club’s top striker, and he has a fantastic record against Rangers, netting a hat-trick in his first Old Firm derby.
He scored the winner in the League Cup semi-final against Rangers last season too, and his presence alone will put fear into the Gers’ defence.
Edouard can play a role from the bench, as he did in Celtic’s win at Ibrox last month.
Dembele is used to playing at Hampden Park and won’t freeze on the big occasion, which would be a risk if they threw Edouard in from the start.
It has been an injury hit season for Dembele, but he has scored three times in his last six games and is maintaining his fitness.
Starting with Edouard would be overthinking it for Brendan Rodgers, he must go with his best striker, and at the moment, that’s Dembele.
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