Hurrah..finally!….the international break is over and we can all get back to some real fitbaw.<\/p>\n
This weekend sees The Hoops at home to face their big Title rivals, Aberdeen.
\nWith both teams unbeaten after 7 games each this season, this football feast couldn’t get any more savoury, even if you lathered it in BBQ sauce and left it in the slow cooker overnight.<\/p>\n
The latest news suggest that Cameron Carter Vickers could return at the heart of the defence. This would probably mean a demotion back to the bench for new signing Auston Trusty, it would be hard to justify dropping Liam Scales on current form, plus his established relationship with CCV could be pivotal for this encounter. Its true that CCV’s form hadn’t been the best recently but that may have been caused by him playing through the Pain barrier and nursing the injury to his toe. Hopefully we see him back in the line up come the 3pm kick-off.<\/p>\n
Speaking of which, the actual game and kick-off time and TV coverage has been capturing the headlines recently. After Sky and Premier had already committed to their choice of games, the cry suddenly went up for this game to be catered for when people actually began to appreciate the start both teams had made this season. Celtic simply laughed and said “Fuck off” when asked to move the game to accommodate any late and cheap requests by the TV companies. Quite right too, and nice to see the formerly sacrosanct Saturday 3pm game-time get some protection. It should be a cracker and Brendan wasn’t slow in highlighting the important part the fans can play on Saturday.<\/p>\n
its expected that Celtic will line up with Kaspar in goal. The great Dane has been getting some soft abuse lately for his international gaffe but he’s done well for us and his distribution could come in very handy against the Dons. Hopefully he sticks at least one boot on the line should he need to face a penalty from the men in red. At left back, Greg Taylor has been injured and Alex Valle has another chance to stake his claim for the position. The young man has impressed in flashes and his drives into the final 3rd could be vital against a stubborn Dons defence. Scales and CCV should hold the centre and on the right we should see Alastair Johnston who like Valle, can expect to busy helping out the attacks as well as guarding his own goal.<\/p>\n
In midfield its not quite a case of any 3 from 5 just yet as it will still take a while before Luke McGowan is challenging CalMac for his place. Top signing Arne Engels will start after being away with Belgium this last week and next to him and our captain will either be Reo or Bernardo. The jury is still out slightly on this but with each game, Bernardo seems to be strengthening his case versus Hatate. Whoever starts will be expected to replaced, along with Engels around the 70 minute mark, by the other along with McGowan, whose determination and love for the club devotion could really help keep the fires burning in games such as these.<\/p>\n
Up front it should be quite straightforward, providing no injuries or jet-lag from recent International endeavours. Kyogo will likely start through the middle, after his nice wee holiday trip to the Scottish Isles last week, and either side of him should be The Human Dynamo in Daizen Maeda and Celtics current star man, Nicolas Kuhn.<\/p>\n
The wingers have been in great form and hopefully it can continue. Maeda and Kyogo’s pressing instincts could also come to the fore against a Dons team who may not have experienced the intensity from such pressing so far this season. Again its likely the subs will come out on 70 mins and Adam Idah should get some game time with Yang or possibly Mr Hat Trick in Sligo, Luis Palma getting on to try and work his way back into contention.<\/p>\n
The recent fightback at Ross County showed that class should win out in the end but we have to be at the top of our game.<\/p>\n
Aberdeen are on a run of 13 wins and have not been scraping by in a few games here or there. They have been steady, composed, organised and clinical when needed and the team, players and especially the new Manager Jimmy Thelin have really impressed.<\/p>\n
“He has brought a style of football that you can easily get involved with, you can easily applaud, you can easily support.” said Dons legend Willie Miller.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Aberdeen seem very well balanced and also have managed to show they can dig deep when required, a very late winner at Ross County ( ahem!) and a good comeback victory against Hearts in the last game for example. While they may not have faced a Celtic or Rangers yet ( they have quite a few weeks ahead of them), Their Swedish Manager has their defence playing very well with only 6 goals conceded in the league this year, and up front they have former Hibs striker Kevin Nisbet and current Pittodrie hero Pape Habib Gu\u00e8ye looking to take their chances in front of goal and throughout the team, pressure is constantly focused upon the opponent so it could be a big day for players keeping their composure and concentration.<\/p>\n
It really is set up to be quite an afternoon at Celtic Park. The top 2 in the league, undefeated facing off…something has to give!<\/p>\n
If we play to our strengths, we should win, hopefully with at least a 2 goal cushion. Hopefully no cobwebs after the International break and we can really start brightly and take firm control. Whether Aberdeen and the officials Nick Walsh and his VAR buddy Greig Aitken allow us to do that, well only time will tell.<\/p>\n
Etims Prediction<\/strong>…Kyogo to grab our first and Kuhn and Idah to finish the job after Aberdeen get a dubious penalty award.\u00a0 Here’s to 3-1 the good guys.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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