Another Balancing Act: A Dundee-Celtic Preview

WEDNESDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER: BETFRED CUP QUARTER-FINAL; DUNDEE V CELTIC 7:45PM

Celtic began a huge week as we continue our Betfred Cup defence with a trip to play Dundee.

Team Selection: With Ibrox and Anderlecht rapidly on the horizon, it seems likely that Brendan Rodgers will again make changes to the established starting eleven. The big news is that Dedryck Boyata is back in the squad, and it seems certain that he will start the game, probably alongside Jozo Simunovic. Kieran Tierney could be back after his rest against Ross County.

In midfield, James Forrest should keep his place after some recent very good form, and as Jonny Hayes did well against Ross County he may start. Tom Rogic is another whose form seems to demand a start against Dundee. Where does that leave Scott Sinclair and Patrick Roberts? On the bench. Scott Brown should finally get his long awaited rest too.

Up front this seems like an ideal game for Odsonne Edouard to start and I would put both Moussa Demeble and Leigh Griffiths on the bench, as they have recently struggled with injury issues.

Previous Meetings: In 1999, a last minute Morten Wieghorst header gave 10 men Celtic a 1-0 win over Dundee in the quarter final of the CIS Insurance Cup. No footage of the goal sadly, but you can read the match report of the game courtesy of the great CelticWiki here.

Prediction: Even though this may be on paper the ‘least important’ of the three games coming up, it’s still Celtic defending a trophy that we won last year, and I think we will continue our defence pf the trophy with a victory by a couple of goals.

Dundee 1 Celtic 3