Former Celtic midfielder Kris Commons believes Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou may go with a bold starting eleven in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers this weekend.
Their opponents may well be going into the game off the back of a tough match in the Europa League, and Commons thinks Postecoglou will be looking to take advantage of the situation:
“They’ll be keeping half an eye on Rangers to see how much energy they expend against Braga in the Europa League on Thursday night. If Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men have a tough evening, Postecoglou might change his plans and really go for the jugular even more than normal. If Rangers play extra time, he may look at injecting extra pace in wide areas.”
“Ange has never been one for defending. He won’t be looking to creep over the line in the Scottish Cup either. He’ll be looking to blow Rangers away. Looking to win emphatically with entertaining, attacking football in the Celtic tradition. And if Celtic can maintain their recent form, they should do that.”
Commons makes a good point in terms of the likelihood of fatigue in the Rangers’ team. A tiring encounter against Braga could play into Celtic’s hands at Hampden.
A fast start is almost guaranteed from the Bhoys but we shall see if it also affects Postecoglou’s choices in terms of who starts the semi-final. Both Giorgos Giakoumakis and David Turnbull are doubts for Sunday due to injuries and that could hand a start to Kyogo Furuhashi.
Liel Abada could also add a bit more dynamism out wide but, after winning 7-0 against St Johnstone last time out, you wouldn’t expect that many changes.
