Predicted XI: Celtic vs. Raith Rovers (H)

Before every Celtic match, the writers at Read Celtic will role-play (not that kind) and give the fans a chance to get involved as well. We will be playing the role of Ronny Deila choosing the starting XI and how they should line-up on the pitch.

Think yours is better than any of ours? Tweet @ReadCeltic your XI leading up to the next game and you might be picked to have your say on Read Celtic.

Ruairi Daly

(4-2-3-1) Bailly; Janko, Ambrose, Boyata, Blackett; Johansen, Bitton; Mackay-Steven, Allan (McGregor), Stokes; Ciftci

Celtic begin the defence of the League Cup tomorrow against Scottish Championship side Raith Rovers. With this Saturday’s game against Hearts and next Thursday’s Europa League game against Fenerbahce in mind, I expect Ronny Deila to make a number of changes to the starting line-up.

Logan Bailly should get a game against the Rovers as he hasn’t played since the trip to Tannadice back in August. The backup ‘keeper will hopefully be used by Deila in cup competitions to help him settle in at the club.

Lustig will probably sit this one out again to be ready for the welcoming of Hearts on Saturday and Fenerbahce on Thursday night. Janko would be my selection at right-back after a great game on Sunday, but Deila could also play Ambrose to rest the Swiss youngster.

If Janko gets the nod at right-back, Ambrose will play alongside Boyata once again after being virtually untroubled on Sunday. Both look composed on the ball, which is great to see giving the criticism they regularly receive from fans. I wouldn’t want to risk playing new Bhoy Simunovic in a League Cup game with two big games on the horizon so he will most likely sit on the bench as an option should the defence look unstable.

Loanee Tyler Blackett gets the nod for me at left-back with Izzy needing a rest before Saturday. It’s also an opportunity for Blackett to show what he can do and possibly get his name on the teamsheet for Thursday night due to Izaguirre’s suspension.

I would pick Johansen and Bitton in the two deeper midfield roles to pick the Rovers defence apart and run them ragged. Brown will most likely get a rest with two important games coming up for Celtic. In the number 10 role, I would be tempted to start Allan though the youngster might still not have recovered fully from injury.

On the two wings, I would start Mackay-Steven and Stokes who haven’t seen a lot of game time recently, especially Stokes. Both have more than enough quality to help Celtic get goals to kill the game off hopefully before half-time if they play with the intensity they did on Sunday.

Ciftci should start in place of Griffiths as the lone striker as the Scot is well overdue a break having played every game this season for Celtic. It also gives Ciftci a chance to score a few goals and build up confidence going forward.

Looking at last night’s development team, I would expect youngsters Kieran Tierney and Aidan Nesbitt to both be on the bench and possibly get some game time. Both performed very well in the development squad this season and could see more first-team action in the cup games.

Sybaris Ali

(4-2-3-1) Bailly; Lustig, Simunovic, Boyata, Izaguirre; Brown, Johansen; Mackay-Steven, Armstrong, Stokes; Ciftci

Logan Bailly gets the nod in goal, as Ronny Deila will look to rotate the squad but have enough to beat Raith Rovers. The ‘keeper who made his first team debut against Dundee United earlier in the season, should come in to give Craig Gordon a rest.

Mikael Lustig who in recent months has been injury prone could feature to ease him back into the team. The Swedish international has struggled for fitness and it may be the right type of match to bring him back into the side.

At the back, Jozo Simunovic and Dedryck Boyata should be given have a chance to build their partnership further, after the pair looked solid and reliable in Amsterdam.

Izaguirre stays at left-back, but I was tempted to play Blackett in that position. The only reason why I have kept Izzy is because of his general play on Sunday. He was immense scoring twice and assisting Tom Rogic’s goal. Also against a team like Raith, who are most likely to sit back and defend, the Honduran could provide width and creativity to help unlock their defence.

In midfield, Scott Brown retains his place but  Nir Bitton is replaced by Stefan Johansen. As much as Bitton has played a key part this season, now may be a good time to rest him. This game would provide a good opportunity for Johansen to get back to form, having been poor in this season’s role in behind the striker. In my opinion, the Norwegian is more of a box-to-box midfielder rather than a number 10.

Looking at the three attacking roles, I have gone for Gary Mackay-Steven, Stuart Armstrong and Anthony Stokes. Mackay-Steven’s inclusion adds a different dimension going forward. This is the same reason why I have chosen Stokes. The Irish International hasn’t featured much this season, but again he is a creative player who has the skills to beat opponents. He also has a good relationship with Izaguirre, and the pair of them link up very well when playing together.

Finally, Stuart Armstrong gets the number 10 role, but he may not feature because of injury. He and Allan have struggled in the last few weeks, but hopefully the pair will be back tomorrow. However, the reason why he plays ahead of Allan is his link up play with Mackay-Steven and striker Nadir Ciftci, who is the man to start up front. He finally opened his scoring against Dundee on Sunday and will aim to continue scoring on Wednesday. This type of game would provide him with an opportunity to increase his confidence in front of goal.