Match preview - Celtic at home

Hope the fumigators are booked in; it’s Celtic at home on Sunday. Actually it may be more prudent to book sand bags for this particular fixture to help stem the tide of tears which will no doubt run from the eyes of every fan of a green and white hooped persuasion when they see unsold tickets in the home end.

Ok now I have the pettiness out of my system, lets take a look at our opponents and discuss what different challenges they may pose compared to the past two seasons.

Greg Taylor and Alistair Johnston were excellent last season and really bought into their inverted roles while Anthony Ralston looked a different player under Postecoglou. Rodgers however tends to like the traditional wing-back outlook which may play into our hands on a tight Tynecastle pitch.

There is also a tweak in formation with Rodgers more likely to favour a 4-2-3-1 system focussing controlled domination of the ball compared the gun ho "We never stop" approach from the preferred 4-3-3 Postecoglou style.

A raft of defensive injuries and using Kyogo in a deeper role has disrupted the rhythm of their domestic performances but they are still a formidable side albeit slightly weaker on the bench compared to previous seasons.

The fixture will present an opportunity for Steven Naismith to further showcase his philosophy to build on the evidence created from Celtic's last visit to the Capital. A deviation from that aggressive high press style may only serve to fuel discontent amongst sections of the support who are still to be convinced of the long and short term merits of his appointment this summer.

As the underdogs, it is natural to look past recent form, betting odds and pundits predictions and instead seek inspiration wherever you can find. For me it's a case of going as far back as the 17th December 2017.

On that day a team including Jamie Brandon, Ross Callachan & Michael Smith in an unfamiliar centre half role put the invincibles to the sword 4-0 in a game that saw everything go right for us.

One look at the side that started that day and you see that we have went man for man and hoped that enough of our players would win their individual battles. It was a performance built on a very aggressive first hour that saw us pressing high and building up enough a gap in the scoreline that allowed us to crack open the cigars and banter everyone with throwing on Cole Stockton & Rafal Grzelak.

We can talk tactics and systems all day but the main ingredients to a victory over either half of the old firm is simply:

• Having the right mentality

• Carrying some luck

• Our opponents having an off day

My Line-up

I would be surprised if Rodgers deviates from a controlled build up in possession primarily going through the centre of the pitch which represents an opportunity for us to suffocate them with a 4-4-2 diamond formation.

This weekend will have come too quickly for Craig Gordon but in Zander Clark we have an individual who should be on a high after earning his first international cap during the week.

It is vital we get Kent & Rowles back as a central pairing which will mean taking a gamble on the match fitness of Alex Cochrane at left back. Toby Sibbick showed enough during the 1st half of the Edinburgh derby to retain his place at right back.

In midfield I would like to see Baningime sitting at the base of the 4 with Devlin and Nieuwenhof continuing in their 8 roles which has yielded success out of possession in recent weeks. Shankland would then be at the tip of the 4 playing in a deeper role which would rely on him pressing on Mcgregor to try and force Celtic to go long.

I would assume that Celtic will play with a high defensive line to allow them to press as high as possible which will offer an opportunity for us to quickly break against them. With this in mind I would be looking at Vargas & Tagawa starting with the knowledge that we could freshen that area up with Forrest & Oda later on.

Final Thoughts

We remain something of a curious work in progress in certain aspects of our game with an increase in pressing and winning set plays being off set by our failure to make the most of the opportunities that they present.

Our shape in particular out of possession points to a group who are buying into the manager but a need for calm heads and better decision making is required to maximise the benefits of this defensive resilience.

When Celtic last visited us, it could be argued that the opening half of that match was key to building calls for Naismith to get the permanent managers gig and a similar performance tomorrow will go a long way to getting some sceptics like myself on board.

Feel free to leave your feedback and predictions below and thanks for reading.

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