Celtic’s season has been nothing short of disastrous for a club of their stature and it got no better last time out.
A defeat to Rangers was the worst possible way to start the New Year and thus, changes could be afoot for Neil Lennon.
On the chalkboard
It’s not often that Celtic fail to score but against a watertight Rangers defence last Saturday, they failed to do so.
Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths formed a two-prong attack but try as they might they failed to find the back of the net.
A big part of that was down to the threat posed on the flanks. Only 14% of the team’s crosses were successful and furthermore, just 40% of their dribbles and take-ons actually amounted to a player beating their man.
It wasn’t the greatest attacking display and as a result, Lennon should think about switching his formation again.
The solution
Much has been made about whether Griffiths and Edouard can play together up front as a pairing but it’s hard to suggest it worked last Saturday.
With two men to aim for in the box, completing just three accurate crosses from 21 attempted is a woeful effort.
Thus, they should revert back to Edouard as the lone striker and bring in Mohamed Elyounoussi to play on the left-hand side.
The Norwegian hasn’t started for the Hoops since the Scottish Cup final win over Hearts before Christmas but he simply has to be unleashed against Hibernian on Monday night.
He put in what was described as a “lively” cameo against Rangers but unfortunately he wasn’t able to pick the lock of their backline.
Elyounoussi has a habit of beating his man and picking out a cross so perhaps with his addition from the off, Celtic can put themselves in a position to terrify Jack Ross and his team.
The winger completed just two passes against the Gers but should find a lot more space for himself when Hibs come to Parkhead. For starters, he won’t have the effervescent James Tavernier to contend with.
The 26-year-old has scored 12 times this term, registering five assists in the process, so it’s hard to stake a claim for leaving him out. Elyounoussi is too good to be kept out of the starting XI for this long.
Lennon must reintroduce him.