Brendan Rodgers would be taking a big risk by playing fit-again Celtic star Jozo Simunovic against PSG.
Celtic visit Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday night and already the question is not whether Brendan Rodgers’s side can win, but how many the hosts will score.
The big-spending French giants smashed five past the Hoops in a one-sided demolition at Parkhead in September and the likes of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani will be fancied to inspire another hefty defeat for Celtic again in Paris tomorrow.
With that in mind, you wonder whether Rodgers should continue to rest centre-back Jozo Simunovic in preparation for Sunday’s League Cup final with Motherwell.
The Croatia defender was an unused substitute in Saturday’s 1-0 win away to Ross County but he still has not kicked a ball for the Bhoys since September due to injury.
Rodgers might be tempted to give him some minutes against les Parisiens but it might well be a mistake.
The 23-year-old, probably their best defender, does not need the confidence and morale sapped out of him before such a big game on Sunday and that could well happen if PSG go and demolish Celtic again.
Is Simunovic really going to be the difference between a good result and a bad one tomorrow night? He wasn’t in the previous fixture, when Rodgers’s side were thrashed 5-0.
The Northern Irish manager needs to box smart with Simunovic. With his injury record, the Scottish champions don’t need him missing any more time and starting him in Paris is a risk not worth taking.
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