Sam Johnstone is not the answer for Celtic, his in-depth stats vs Hibernian are telling

Martin O'Neill has made an interesting selection choice over the last two Celtic games.

The boss of the Scottish champions has seemingly decided to swap out his starting goalkeeper.

Viljami Sinisalo has found himself on the bench the last week, with Celtic taking on both Celta Vigo in Europe and Hibernian in the league.

In his place is former Wolves goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.

The decision has raised questions, particularly given the importance of having a reliable presence between the sticks at this stage of the season.

Johnstone now has an opportunity to establish himself as O'Neill's first choice, but his performances must justify the manager's faith.

Sam Johnstone's stats show O'Neill is taking an unnecessary Celtic gamble

Johnstone has not taken his chance between the sticks for Celtic, despite a 2-1 win against Hibernian on 25 October.

The Englishman has struggled to show his qualities, conceding more goals than he is expected to.

Over the last two appearances, he has goals prevented of -1.14, conceding three goals in the process as per FotMob.

In comparison, this season for Celtic, the Finnish goalkeeper has a positive goals prevented stat of 3.19.

While Celtic may have picked up the three points this weekend, they will eventually run into games where the goalkeeper will have to help them out.

And Johnstone's stats show he would provide the exact opposite.

The goalkeeper is ultimately a problem waiting to cost Celtic, and it would be a gamble for the manager to persist with him.

Celtic cannot afford to let this issue drag on, particularly with tougher tests ahead where defensive mistakes could prove costly.

O'Neill must now decide whether Johnstone deserves more time or if returning to his previous goalkeeper is the smarter move.

What Celtic need in a goalkeeper

Some goalkeepers need to be in the game in order to be at their best, but the truth is that Celtic will often dominate proceedings.

Against Hibernian, there were only two shots on target that Johnstone had to face.

Meanwhile, Celtic are also second for xG conceded with 10.8 over this season so far.

If Celtic are restricting teams to relatively few opportunities, O'Neill needs a goalkeeper who can make the crucial saves when those moments arrive.

Johnstone's recent goals-prevented figures suggest he has not been doing that, and Celtic may eventually pay the price if those struggles continue.