Celtic return to Parkhead this afternoon as they prepare to welcome Hibernian to Glasgow in their 15th match of the Scottish Premiership campaign.
The Hoops are seven points clear at the top of the table after they beat second-placed Aberdeen 1-0 on Wednesday night, thanks to a goal from Reo Hatate.
Brendan Rodgers’ side, albeit with a game in hand, would have only been one point ahead of the Dons if they had lost that game away from home during the week, which is why it was crucial to pick up all three points.
Hatate secured all three points for the Scottish giants with a fantastic finish after Greg Taylor lifted it over the opposition’s defence to send the Japan international through in the box.
The Hoops must continue to perform in the Premiership, however, to ensure that they maintain the gap between themselves and Rangers and Aberdeen.
This means that this clash with Hibernian at Parkhead this afternoon remains an important game, despite their healthy advantage over their rivals, and Rodgers could make some changes to his starting XI after a few players struggled against the Dons.
Celtic's worst performers against Aberdeen
Firstly, left-back Alex Valle endured an incredibly frustrating 45 minutes of action after being selected to start at left-back, before being hauled off at half-time by the manager.
The Spanish defender, who is on a season-long loan from Barcelona, lost eight of his 11 duels, failed with all five of his attempted dribbles, and lost the ball a staggering 16 times in just one half.
This shows that Valle was incredibly wasteful in possession and a lightweight off the ball, as the Aberdeen players found it far too easy to
get the better of him in physical contests.
Centre-forward Kyogo Furuhashi was another player whose performance left plenty to be desired. He played the first 66 minutes of the game and lost 100% (1/1) of his duels, whilst only completing five of his nine passes.
The Japan international ended his time on the pitch with zero shots on goal and zero chances created for his teammates, although he was hardly helped by the midfielders behind him.
Minutes
66
Shots on target
0
Big chances created
0
Dribbles completed
0
Pass accuracy
79%
As you can see in the table above, Paulo Bernardo also played the first 66 minutes of the match after being selected in midfield alongside Callum McGregor and Hatate.
The summer signing from Benfica, after his loan spell at Parkhead in the 2023/24 campaign, failed to offer much in the way of quality in possession for the Hoops, with zero shots on target and zero ‘big chances’ created to help Kyogo, Nicolas Kuhn, and Daizen Maeda.
After his struggles in possession against Aberdeen, Rodgers should ruthlessly bin him from the starting line-up against Hibernian, despite his other quality displays this term.
Paulo Bernardo's performances this season
The central midfielder has started seven of his 13 appearances in the Premiership so far this term, which shows that the head coach has dipped him in and out of the XI at times.
Bernardo has failed to nail down a regular place in the line-up in the top-flight and that may be because of performances like the one against Aberdeen, which should now see him dropped for today’s match.
The 22-year-old maestro has, however, provided plenty of moments of attacking quality throughout the Premiership season so far, and is far from a poor player with nothing to offer.
Appearances
13
Starts
7
Goals
2
Big chances created
4
Assists
2
Key passes per game
1.8
As you can see in the table above, Bernardo has produced six goals and ‘big chances’ created combined in just seven starts in the league this season, which is a more than respectable return at the top end of the pitch.
He has also made 2.3 tackles and interceptions per game and won 59% of his duels in the division, which shows that the former Benfica starlet can hold his own out of possession.
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Despite his solid performances on the whole in the Premiership, his showing against Aberdeen should see him ruthlessly dropped in favour of Scottish whiz Luke McCowan.
Why Luke McCowan should start
The former Dundee whiz should come back into the starting line-up after he was harshly left out of the team by Rodgers after his sensational showing against Ross County.
Celtic brought McCowan in from Dundee on a permanent deal on deadline day and the left-footed wizard has provided a fantastic rotation option for the Northern Irish boss.
He arrived as a proven Premiership performer, with ten goals and five assists in the division in the 2023/24 campaign, and has hit the ground running at Parkhead.
McCowan, for Celtic and Dundee combined, has scored five goals and provided four assists in 13 appearances and six starts in the top-flight this season, which shows that he can offer quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals for the Hoops.
The 26-year-old star’s best performance in a Celtic shirt came in his last start for the club against Ross County at Parkhead last weekend, as he starred in the middle of the park.
As you can see in the highlights above, the former Dundee man was directly involved in three of the five first half goals, with one goal and three assists for the Scottish giants.
McCowan, who was described as a “game winner” by Marvin Bartley, can offer a threat as a finisher whilst also having the ability to create chances for his teammates from open play and from set-pieces, as evidenced by his performance against Ross County.
However, he was dropped for the 1-0 win over Aberdeen and came off the bench to create two chances and one ‘big chance’ for his side in just 24 minutes on the pitch.
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Therefore, Rodgers should ditch Bernardo, who struggled against the Dons, to unleash McCowan from the start after a superb showing against Ross County and a bright cameo on Wednesday night.
