How will Celtic line up on Sunday as they make the trip to Fir Park?
Celtic will be hoping for yet another away win this Sunday after defeating Rangers at Ibrox in a thoroughly entertaining Old Firm encounter last weekend.
The Hoops make the trip to Fir Park to take on seventh-placed Motherwell, who will be no pushover having won four of their last six games.
The last outing between the two sides saw Odsonne Edouard, Celtic’s hero at Ibrox last weekend, net his first career hat-trick in a stunning display. Having come up with the goods twice in two games for Brendan Rodgers, the young Frenchman will likely earn a start against the Well and perhaps line up alongside his compatriot Moussa Dembele.
In terms of injuries, Leigh Griffiths could well make his return this week having completed his comeback to fitness, while Jonny Hayes and Nir Bitton remain unavailable. Jozo Simunovic, who recently rejected a first international call-up from Bosnia and Herzegovina after switching his international allegiance from Croatia, will miss the game due to suspension having been sent off against Rangers.
After a stunning display against Rangers on his debut, Scott Bain will almost certainly retain his starting position in between the sticks.
To accommodate two strikers in the team, Rodgers could opt for a back three which would see Jack Hendry, who did well after being added to the fray following Simunovic’s dismissal last Sunday, Kristoffer Ajer and Marvin Compper make up the trio.
Dedryk Boyata, who was abysmal against Rangers to put it lightly, should drop out for Hendry and will surely be made to work hard in training to regain the trust of the manager before getting another opportunity.
Olivier Ntcham and Scott Brown will line up in midfield as usual, having been two of the club’s most consistent performers this term. The duo have developed quite the partnership over the course of the season and Ntcham appears to be proving his worth after arriving for a sizeable fee of £4.5million (BBC) from Manchester City.
After his stunning opener against Rangers, Tom Rogic should resume his position in attacking midfield, with James Forrest and Kieran Tierney operating as wing-backs.
To accommodate Edouard in the starting XI, Callum McGregor should drop to the bench to allow the all-French under-23 partnership of Dembele and Edouard to thrive up top; an intimidating prospect for any side to face.
Here is the predicted 3-5-2 line-up in full:
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