Recently axed stars among three players who must start for Celtic v Partick
COMMENT
Celtic are in Scottish Cup action on Saturday, as they take on Partick Thistle in a Glasgow Derby at Celtic Park. The Hoops are aiming to bounce back from a poor performance against Kilmarnock in a match which Brendan Rodgers' side deservedly lost 1-0. The game is a big one for the Hoops as not only will they want to make amends for the loss to Kilmarnock, but they will want to go one step closer to an unprecedented second domestic treble in a row. The Hoops boss may well be tempted to make changes for the game, but it should be remembered that the defeat was only the second domestic loss suffered by Rodgers since he took over as Hoops manager in May 2016. The Bhoys won their first match in the Scottish Cup this season 5-0 against Brechin, and whilst it's highly unlikely they will have such an emphatic win over Partick, if they pick these three players it should help get the victory recquired. Here,
Football Insider
looks at three players who must start against Partick Thistle, including a duo axed from the starting XI recently.
Click 'reveal' below to read about a new arrival to the squad...
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CHARLY MUSONDA
Musonda has came to the Hoops with plenty of hype. He joined on an 18 month loan deal from Chelsea, and many Blues fans seemed upset to see him leave as he was on the fringes of the first team. He had a cameo in his first game for the Hoops against Hearts, but failed to impress in his full debut against Kilmarnock. Despite the performance against Killie, the player deserves a chance against Partick to show what he is all about, hopefully he can provide the creativity that the Bhoys have been lacking due to the abscences of long-term injury victims Tom Rogic and Patrick Roberts.
Click 'next page' to read about a mainstay who should be back in the side...
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SCOTT SINCLAIR
Scott Sinclair has had a very odd season so far. The consensus is that his performances are nowhere near as good as those of last season when he won player of the year, yet he is still the Hoops' top scorer with 17 goals. Brendan Rodgers perhaps shares the current misgivings about Sinclair's form, as he started on the bench against both Hearts and Kilmarnock. The poor performance from the team against Kilmarnock showed that they missed Sinclair, if he started it culd perhaps have missed a difference. Rodgers won't make the same mistake again and the player has to start against Partick.
Click 'next page' to read about a player who deserves more chances than he gets...
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ODSONNE EDOUARD
Edouard was extremely unfortunate not to start against Kilmarnock. Only three days earlier, both he and Moussa Dembele - playing as a strike partnership - scored a goal each in the 3-1 win over Hearts. Strangely Edouard was dropped to the bench for the Killie game, whilst Dembele started and was very poor. The on-loan striker from PSG has had a stop-start season so far for the Hoops, but he finally seems to getting into his best form of the season. He deserves to start - either alongside or in place of Dembele - against Partick. In other Celtic news,