Celtic face Rangers at Hampden Park on Sunday afternoon in the Scottish Cup.
Former Celtic defender Vidar Riseth has told the Scottish Sun that Brendan Rodgers must play his best side against Old Firm rivals Rangers on Sunday afternoon – and that now includes defender Kristoffer Ajer.
The Hoops will be looking to take a mammoth step closer to completing a second successive treble under Brendan Rodgers by knocking Rangers out of the Scottish Cup and simultaneously qualifying for the final of the competition.
Rodgers has struggled to find a consistent pairing at centre-back all season, with the likes of Ajer, Nir Bitton, Jozo Simunovic, Dedryck Boyata and Jack Hendry all used. Erik Sviatchenko is out on loan, while Marvin Compper has played just once.
Riseth, who played for Celtic for two years between 1998 and 2000, reckons Norwegian defender Ajer should start after helping the Hoops keep an impressive 16 clean sheets in 27 league and cup outings.
“I’d expect Rodgers to name his strongest team to face Rangers and I’d include Ajer in that,” Riseth said. “He deserves to play. He’s been excellent for the last few months and is a big player for Celtic now.
“In certain games, Rodgers might look for more experience but in the last Old Firm game at Ibrox Ajer was outstanding. When Celtic went to ten men, he stood strong.
“In the last few months, he has made a lot of progress. Ajer is young but plays with an old head. This is a big game but he has shown his manager that he can be trusted to handle the pressure.”
Ajer has been converted by Rodgers into a defensive role this season after the 19-year-old, who turns 20 on Tuesday, joined as a central midfielder from Norwegian side Start in the summer of 2016.
Celtic come into the game off the back of a 2-1 win over Hamilton, while Rangers will be buoyant after disposing of a Dundee side 4-0 that had held the Bhoys earlier in the week to a 0-0 draw.
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