Celtic hammered their arch-rivals, Rangers, 5-0 at the Celtic Park last weekend in the Scottish Premiership fixture and secured their seventh successive league title in a befitting manner.
Brendan Rodgers’ men are due to make a trip to the Tynecastle Stadium on Sunday to face Heart of Midlothian in their next league game. Given that the league title is already in their bag, the Glasgow giants are set to play with much more freedom.
Celtic Team News
Moussa Dembele is struggling with a knee injury but should be fit to face the Jambos. However, Marvin Compper, Nir Bitton and Jonny Hayes are out.
Here is how we expect Celtic to start against Craig Levein’s men.
Goalkeeper
Craig Gordon is expected to keep his place between the sticks. Gordon has been quite decent this season and will try to garner his thirteenth clean sheet of the season when he faces Hearts.
Defence
Dedryck Boyata and Kristoffer Ajer are likely to get the green light from Rodgers to start this weekend. Boyata has had a hot and cold season but was very resilient against the Gers.
Meanwhile, Ajer has been an outstanding player for the Celts this season and has made the most of the opportunities he has received from the former Liverpool manager.
The right-back slot is expected to be taken up by Mikael Lustig. Lustig made a quick return from injury and was one of the best players on the pitch against Graeme Murty’s men last weekend.
From the left-back, we expect Kieran Tierney to make his presence felt once again. Tierney’s industry down the right has been undeniable and he does add a lot of class to the ranks of the Hoops.
Midfield
Scott Brown and Olivier Ntcham will be aiming to influence the game from the middle of the park. While Brown has had a big impact this season, Ntcham has also lived up to the expectations.
Undoubtedly, both of them deserve to start in the upcoming fixture. Meanwhile, Tom Rogic is likely to start from the no.10 slot.
Attack
Odsonne Edouard was chalked in the starting line-up to cater to Celtic’s striking needs in the Old Firm derby. The French hitman scored two goals and registered an assist but this weekend, we expect to see Leigh Griffiths spearheading their attack.
Patrick Roberts might operate from the right-wing with Forrest on the bench at the start. We expect Scott Sinclair to be rolled out against Levein’s men as Sinclair must be aiming to resurrect his form before the season comes to a conclusion.
