da dobrowin： Celtic return to league action tonight for some Friday night thrills at Firhill, taking on Partick Thistle. The Bhoys are looking to continue their unbeaten start to the domestic season and after holding Man City to a draw on Tuesday night they will be full of confidence.
da prosport bet： The Hoops have an excellent record against their fellow Glaswegians and incredibly haven’t lost away to Partick Thistle in the league since 1994.
The fixture is one of seven left for Rodgers’ side in December, a heavy schedule that is sure to test the depth and readiness of Celtic’s entire squad.
Thistle sit second bottom of the Scottish Premiership but such is the tight nature of the table, a win would see them move into the top six. That’s sure to provide extra motivation for Alan Archibald’s team in what is a big TV fixture.
Despite all signs pointing to another Hoops victory, Rodgers’ side still have to remain vigilant with a target on their back as the team to beat in Scotland.
Here is the Celtic XI that we think have enough about them to secure victory at Firhill…
GK: Craig Gordon
Surprisingly Manchester City didn’t give Craig Gordon too much to think about on Tuesday night. We thought the Scottish international was due to be in for a busier night but outside of the goal he really only had one save to make from an Iheanacho back-heel flick. It was smartly stopped and the big goalkeeper deserves to retain his place in the team heading to Firhill.
RB: Mikael Lustig
Putting in another hard shift on Celtic’s right-hand side on Tuesday, Lustig showed improvement from last week’s disastrous first-half against Motherwell.
The Swedish international didn’t really put a foot wrong all night up against £37m man Leroy Sane, leaving many scratching their heads as to why the young City winger cost so much money.
Rotation might see Gamboa getting a start against Thistle but we’d give the nod to the Swede.
CB: Jozo Simunovic
Despite getting caught on the wrong side of Kelechi Iheanacho for the striker’s equaliser on Tuesday night, generally the big Croatian put in a solid defensive display over the 90 minutes.
The defender had a 100% pass completion rate in the official UEFA statistics, finding his teammates 42 times on the night.
That’s been a trademark of Rodgers’ Celtic team, playing from the back, and it’s set to continue against Partick Thistle.
CB: Erik Sviatchenko
Despite looking less assured than his defensive partner over the course of the game, Sviatchenko still coped well with the Man City attack, only really exposing goalkeeper Craig Gordon to danger twice.
He was making his return from illness after missing last week’s game against Motherwell. His replacement that day, Kolo Toure, didn’t have the best of games so it’ll be a welcome return to league action on Friday night for most Celtic fans.
LB: Emilio Izaguirre
After being substituted after 30 minutes against Motherwell last week, many picked out Emilio Izaguirre as Celtic’s weak link ahead of the visit to the Etihad Stadium.
The Honduran acquitted himself well, though, only really being exposed when committing himself forward in search of a Celtic chance, as instructed by his manager, no doubt.
With Kieran Tierney out for the foreseeable future, we see no reason why Izaguirre will not continue on the left side of Celtic’s defence against Partick Thistle.
CM: Scott Brown
Putting in another battling display against the Citizens, Scott Brown once against showed why many are saying he has been Celtic’s top perfomer under Rodgers.
The anchor point between defence and attack, the Scottish international completed 95% of his passes at the Etihad. That tracks with the rest of his games in the competition, Brown completed 393 of his 411 attempted passes over the six Group C games.
It’s that kind of consistency that Celtic will need to rely on if they’re to retain their Scottish Premiership title. Brown is our first name on the team sheet for tonight’s game.
CM: Stuart Armstrong
Stuart Armstrong finally produced the Champions League performance Celtic fans were waiting for on Tuesday night, holding his own against one of the best midfields in England.
It’s his sensational second half performance against Motherwell though that really has him deserving his spot in the midfield at Firhill. He almost single-handedly dragged his side back into the match when the Hoops were 2-0 down, scoring and creating two more.
He’ll be keen to show he can continue his run of fine form.
RW: Gary Mackay-Steven
Gary Mackay-Steven made his first ever appearance under Rodgers on Tuesday and perhaps surprisingly didn’t look off the pace at all.
He even found himself with a good opportunity to score at the Etihad but was unable to find the net.
It bodes well for a player who has worked hard to get himself into contention for a spot in Rodgers’ side after injury in the summer.
James Forrest came off with a knock for the Scottish winger and we see no need to risk him against Thistle when Celtic fans are so eager to see what the man known as ‘GMS’ can do.
AM: Tom Rogic
Tom Rogic is enjoying life at Celtic right now. Never in as rich a vein form in his career so far as right now, the Aussie looks like he can make magic happen every time he pulls on the green and white hoops.
His last minute goal gave Celtic victory at Motherwell and he didn’t look out of place against City on Tuesday.
If Celtic are to win against Thistle he will likely have a big part to play.
LW: Patrick Roberts
Patrick Roberts was the player who made the headlines after the draw at the Etihad. He came back to haunt his parent club with a superb jinking run and finish.
That’s what Celtic fans have been waiting for. The winger did that weekly last season but until the game against Motherwell he had not shown the same ability this season.
We’re expecting that goal to be the springboard the young Englishman needs to kick-start his season. With the absence of Sinclair, Celtic will need creativity on the left-hand side and it seems he is reaching peak form at the perfect time.
ST: Leigh Griffiths
It’s easy to forget given the incredible impact Moussa Dembele has made, but in Leigh Griffiths Celtic have another exceptional striker.
Scoring 40 goals last season, he looked like repeating that feat this time round before a few niggling injuries limited his playing time. That coincided with the rise of Dembele but after a few less than perfect performances from the Frenchman it seems like the perfect time to bring Griffiths back into the fold from the start.
He’s scored more goals against Thistle than anyone in the squad, managing four goals in Celtic’s last seven appearances against them.