Celtic get a break from Scottish Premiership and European football this weekend as they prepare to take on Partick Thistle in the quarter-finals of the League Cup.
The Hoops will be looking to seal their place in the last four of the competition in their efforts to retain the trophy that they won on penalties against their Glasgow rivals last season.
Brendan Rodgers’ side beat Falkirk 4-1 in the last round of the League Cup, thanks to goals from Dane Murray, Alistair Johnston, and Daizen Maeda, along with an own goal from Liam Henderson.
The Celtic boss did make a host of changes to his starting line-up for that clash, as the likes of Viljami Sinisalo, Johnny Kenny, Arne Engels, Murray, and Auston Trusty were given chances to impress.
This clash with Partick Thistle on Sunday provides the head coach with another opportunity to rotate his team and see what the players on the fringes of the squad have to offer, despite it being a quarter-final.
One player who feels like an almost guaranteed starter is summer signing Kelechi Iheanacho, who arrived on a free transfer from Sevilla the day after the deadline for the window passed.
Why Kelechi Iheanacho should start for Celtic
The Nigeria international made his competitive bow for the Scottish Premiership champions against Kilmarnock last time out, coming off the bench for the final 20 minutes.
Iheanacho came on to replace Maeda, who had scored the opening goal in the game, in the 70th minute and the hosts went on to equalise through David Watson, who powered home a header from a corner.
However, as shown in the highlights above, the left-footed ace kept his composure to score from the penalty spot in the 96th minute to win the match for the Hoops on his debut for the club.
Minutes
20
Touches
9
Shots
3
Goals
1
Passes completed
3/5
Duels won
0/2
As you can see in the table above, Iheanacho was keen to make an impact after coming on for his debut for the Scottish giants, as evidenced by three of his nine touches being shots.
He wanted to get on the scoresheet on his debut, clearly, and the penalty provided him with the perfect chance to get off the mark instead of it dragging on for any more matches.
The 28-year-old marksman should now be thrown into the starting line-up for this League Cup clash with Partick Thistle because it is the ideal chance for him to start and get 60 or 70 minutes under his belt to build his fitness back up.
His last competitive start at club level came for Middlesbrough against Norwich City in the English Championship in April, so it may take time for him to get back to his best from a physical perspective.
The former Manchester City and Leicester City marksman will be looking to get on the scoresheet again this weekend to force himself into contention to start against Red Star Belgrade in the Europa League on Wednesday night.
Iheanacho is not the only star who should be brought into the starting line-up against Partick Thistle on Sunday, though, as there is another rarely-seen talent who should be given a chance to shine.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
Paulo Bernardo has only started one game in all competitions, against Livingston in the Premiership, and should finally be unleashed from the start for this League Cup clash.
Why Paulo Bernardo should start for Celtic
The Portugal U21 international only played 23 minutes off the bench against Falkirk in the last round of the competition, and he has been an unused substitute in the last three games in all competitions for the Hoops.
Bernardo, who has also only played once in the Premiership this season, has rarely been used by Rodgers this season, as the likes of Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate, Benjamin Nygren, Luke McCowan, and Engels have been preferred ahead of him.
The Portuguese star, who was described as “tenacious” and a “baller” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, did play 1,272 minutes of action in the Premiership last term, per Sofascore, as he started 13 of his 28 outings in the division.
Bernardo, who scored a brilliant goal against Rangers in his first season at the club on loan from Benfica, produced two goals and three assists in those 13 starts, which shows that he can make an impact in possession.
xG
0.22
Top 7%
Goals
0.14
Top 20%
xG on target
0.23
Top 8%
xA
0.21
Top 11%
Chances created
2.20
Top 9%
Assists
0.21
Top 13%
As you can see in the table above, the central midfielder ranked highly among his positional peers as a scorer and a creator of goals per 90, which shows that he was an efficient player who made the most of the limited opportunities afforded to him by Rodgers.
On top of offering a threat in the final third from a central midfield position, the ‘tenacious’ talent also held his own in physical duels in the Premiership for the Hoops last season.
Bernardo averaged 2.76 tackles and interceptions per 90 for Celtic, winning 63.8% of his tackles and 53.8% of his overall duels, per FotMob, which shows that he was strong in the tackle and not easily bullied by opposition players.
Hatate, for comparison, only won 53.1% of his tackles and 43.8% of his duels, per FotMob, in the Premiership last season, which suggests that the Portuguese ace offered even more to the team out of possession.
These statistics suggest that Bernardo has the qualities on and off the ball to put in well-rounded performances in the middle of the park, but he has not had many chances to showcase his ability in the current campaign, with one start under his belt.
Therefore, Rodgers should drop Hatate to the bench to unleash the former Benfica man against Partick Thistle, to provide him with an opportunity to prove that he deserves more minutes, either as a starter or off the bench, in the weeks and months to come.
