Does Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers know his best defence?
Celtic begin their Europa League group stage by hosting Norwegian outfit Rosenborg on Thursday night, with fixtures set to come rapidly over the next few weeks.
Brendan Rodgers’ side were held to a goalless draw at the weekend away to St Mirren and had to make do with 10 men for over half the game due to Olivier Ntcham’s dismissal.
The Scottish champions did keep a clean sheet with a back three, but it will be interesting to see if the manager switches to a more favoured back four once again in Europe.
There is now real competition in the centre-back area, with loan signing Filip Benkovic set to battle alongside both Dedryck Boyata and Kristoffer Ajer for a spot.
Benkovic impressed on his Celtic debut against St Mirren with his quality in possession and the Leicester City loanee is also a powerhouse, which is why he could form a monstrous new-look combination with Boyata.
The amount of fixtures means that Rodgers will need to rotate his squad frequently, but perhaps promising youngster Ajer should be the player to make way against Rosenborg.
A Benkovic-Boyata partnership is certainly something that Celtic should explore and both look like they could be solid next to each other in a traditional back four.
Rodgers is perhaps still trying to work out his best XI during a mixed start to the campaign, but the pieces should begin fall into place and they will be keen to start well in the Europa League.
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