Celtic make the trip to South Lanarkshire to take on Hamilton Accies in their second consecutive domestic away fixture this week.
The champions are fresh off the back of a solid and convincing 3-0 win over St. Johnstone up in Perth on Wednesday night. First-half goals from Olivier Ntcham, James Forrest and Leigh Griffiths put the game out of reach of the hosts before the half-time whistle was blown.
Lennon has experimented with various formations this season and could look to do the same on Sunday. He’ll obviously go with what he feels will maintain the Hoops’ 2020 unbeaten run (the two-up top is working particularly well, though he may be forced for change this due to injuries).
Mikey Johnston could be out for a long period as he hobbled off midweek with what’s feared to be damaged ligaments. Lennon didn’t seem happy with the winger as he claimed he was okay to carry on, only to call it quits soon after; leaving us down to ten men for the remainder of the game.
Accies will no doubt make this a tricky encounter, especially if the last two fixtures are to go by. They last met back in December at Celtic Park, where it seemed like Brian Rice’s side would come away with a point after Marios Ogkmpoe’s 90th minute equaliser. However, Scott Brown came to the home side’s rescue and grabbed a late winner. I never thought I’d celebrate a goal on a cold Wednesday night against Hamilton that much.
Hamilton Accies boas Brian Rice will not be on the touch-line on Sunday as he serves the first of the 10-match suspension (five game suspended) ban for breaching betting rules.
Frimpong, Elyounoussi, Elhamed and Bitton are all still out of action. Simunovic is likely to miss this one too.
Here is our predicted Celtic XI…
GK: Fraser Forster
Will look to make it three successive clean sheets this weekend.
RB: Moritz Bauer
With Lennon potentially having to switch to a back-four again, Bauer will likely be called upon as he is the only current fit right-back
CB: Christopher Jullien
Has become one of Lennon’s regular first-team players since arriving in the summer.
CB: Kristoffer Ajer
He and Jullien are still learning to work off of each other and the signs are positive
LB: Greg Taylor
Was a contender for MOTM on Wednesday night thanks to his bursting runs and accurate crosses into the box. Assisted Griffiths’ goal and overall looked promising. Surely holds his place
CM: Scott Brown (C)
Will look to see out the game and come away with the three points on a tricky surfacez
CM: Callum McGregor
Another top performer on Wednesday night. Made everything tick from midfield and showed his quality once again.
CAM: Olivier Ntcham
The rumours of a move to West Ham were quickly put to bed when he opened the scoring up in Perth. Linked-up well with his teammates.
RM: James Forrest
A goal and an assist on Wednesday means Lennon won’t drop him. His runs to the byline followed by his crosses into the box caused St. Johnstone problems, as they will Hamilton, hopefully.
LM: Ryan Christie
It’s safe to say we don’t currently have many fit wingers (after Forrest, Jonny Hayes?), so Christie’s first appearance back from suspension could be in a makeshift winger role. It could allow Taylor space to cross and Christie the ability to move inside at times.
ST: Odsonne Edouard
If Lennon’s going to go with one up-top, it’s Eddy. Griffiths took his goal well midweek, though given the injuries the squad has endured, could have to settle for a starting place on the bench. It’s highly likely we’ll see him later on, though.