The fixtures continue to come thick and fast as, after a tricky mid-week visit of an in-form St Mirren side to Celtic Park, the Bhoys make the trip up north to face Ross County in this afternoon’s early kick-off.
The result may not have been flattering, but all that mattered against the Buddies was that Celtic got the three points, avoiding dropping points for a second game in a row.
It was Oh Hyeon-gyu who stepped up and grabbed the winning goal, his first goal of the season, and he will be hoping to have a similar impact from the bench in the coming weeks, perhaps up in Dingwall this weekend.
Mentality
Other players on the fringes, such as Odin Thiago Holm and Yang Hyun-jun, produced good displays from the bench, providing that extra spark needed to get the club over the line. Top performances from Callum McGregor and Liam Scales also helped the Hoops on their way to victory, and a similar strong mentality will need to be shown this weekend as Dingwall is never an easy place to visit.
Celtic will be encouraged by Brendan Rodgers’ overwhelmingly positive record against the Staggies, with the former Leicester and Liverpool boss having never lost against them, boasting six wins and one draw in the seven games against them, only conceding in two of those seven games as well. He has also never lost when managing against a team managed by Malky MacKay, with three wins and two draws against him from his spells as Swansea City and Liverpool manager.
Selection dilemmas
Nat Phillips stepped in against St Mirren, with Cameron Carter-Vickers being rested, and the Liverpool loanee had a steady game. Carter-Vickers would be expected to return this afternoon to partner Liam Scales.
On the wings, Maeda and Yang looked direct and creative on Wednesday night and both will be vying for a starting jersey. Palma would feel aggrieved if he was to drop to the bench, so it would be wise to keep Yang as back-up should Celtic struggle to break down a typically resolute Staggies defence.
Holm and Bernardo will be looking to displace Turnbull in the midfield, but would it be harsh to drop the 24-year-old after his goalscoring exploits midweek?
Our opponents
Malky MacKay’s side aren’t in the best form at the moment, having been winless in their last seven games in all competitions, the last win coming away at Rugby Park against Kilmarnock at the start of September. The main problem for the Staggies has been that they have been drawing too many games, as in that seven game winless run they have drawn four of them.
Malky MacKay has never beaten Celtic as Staggies manager but has run the club close on a couple of occasions, the most notable being a late-night December game where Anthony Ralston scored a famous late goal that was pivotal to securing the title that season. Simon Murray and Yan Dhanda will be the players to watch, with Murray being their top scorer this season and Dhanda being the creative spark in the team. Centre-back Ryan Leak has had a solid start to the season, but will have a tough test to contend with up against Kyogo Furuhashi.
There will be a lot of onus for Kyogo Furuhashi to get back on the scoresheet after going two games in the league without a goal, something that has been a rarity in the Japanese forward’s time at Celtic, but there will be no better opportunity for him to do just that than against Ross County as he has three goals in five games against them.
JAMES MCKENZIE // Follow James HERE
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