Celtic have started the year as they ended it – in inconsistent form.
This has been a diabolical campaign for the Hoops and supporters won’t need reminding of the colossal points deficit to their biggest rivals.
The Bhoys have at least won three of their last four matches but their only defeat in that time came against St Mirren.
Coincidentally, that’s the opposition that Neil Lennon’s side face on Wednesday night. After beating Motherwell and Kilmarnock they will have newfound confidence but you never know what Celtic side are going to turn up at the moment.
So, with that in mind, what kind of XI will the manager look to field this evening?
We’re tipping Lennon to make two changes from the team that defeated Motherwell with two attacking changes made to the side.
The first replacement comes up top where it’s Leigh Griffiths – rather than Albian Ajeti – that partners Odsonne Edouard.
Ajeti has played a fair amount of football recently but after being restricted to a number of substitute appearances prior to that, presumably has quite weary legs due to a lack of match fitness. Consequently, we think that Lennon should rest the Swiss striker.
We expect Scott Brown to continue his resurgence in the middle of the park. Ismaila Soro appears to be fit to play despite a car crash that meant he was late for training earlier this week. Because of that, however, he should start on the bench. FFC previously spoke of how, if fit, Soro should be among the starters this evening. However, with his fitness now a concern, we reckon Lennon will go with Brown in front of the defence instead.
The second and final change is on the right-wing. We’re pushing David Turnbull into a more central area at the expense of Tom Rogic. The £16k-per-week earner hasn’t scored or assisted a goal in his last 12 outings.
Ryan Christie, despite his shoddy form, comes back into the team after returning from injury. He was only on the bench when Celtic lost to St Mirren last time out but has been a favourite of Lennon this term so we think that he’ll return immediately.