Celtic return to Scottish Premiership action this afternoon, after their win in the SFA Cup last weekend, as they travel away from Glasgow to take on Dundee.
The Hoops head into this match off the back of a win over Aberdeen on penalties at Hampden Park, after a 3-3 draw resulted in spot-kicks deciding the victor, and they will now face off against Rangers in the final next month.
Despite the fact his side progressed through to the final, manager Brendan Rodgers could look to make some changes to the starting XI from the match for this clash with Dundee in the league.
James Forrest, who came off the bench to score at Hampden, may have earned himself a place in the lineup, but the Northern Irish boss must also finally unleash Portuguese starlet Paulo Bernardo from the start.
Why James Forrest should start
Hyun-jun Yang, who joined the club from Gangwon FC last summer, was selected to start on the left flank and was handed a dismal 2/10 match rating by Football Insider, who described his performance as 'invisible' and noted that some supporters were groaning and booing at his misplaced touches and passes.
The 21-year-old forward has now registered zero goals, zero assists, and one red card in his last five appearances for the club in all competitions.
Forrest, meanwhile, has produced two goals and one assist in his last five outings – all as a substitute – for the Scottish giants, and should be given a chance to impress ahead of Yang for this clash with Dundee.
The Scottish forward, who brilliantly cut inside from the left to find the bottom right corner from the edge of the box against Aberdeen, is an experienced head and could be a reliable player for the manager to call upon during the title run-in.
Why Paulo Bernardo should be unleashed
Reo Hatate, who started against Aberdeen, has been plagued with injury issues this season and Rodgers may want to manage his minutes to avoid further problems before the end of the campaign.
The Japan international has been absent for a staggering 37 matches for club and country this term with calf and hamstring injuries at three different intervals.
Therefore, the boss should now hand him a rest, from the start, this afternoon and finally unleash Bernardo, who was once hailed as "tenacious" by U23 scout Antonio Mango, in the middle of the park next to Callum McGregor and Matt O'Riley.
Appearances
19
Starts
11
Goals
3
Assists
3
Ground duel success rate
51%
As you can see in the table above, the 5 foot 10 ace has provided quality at the top end of the pitch from a midfield position, with more than one direct goal contribution every other start on average in the league.
The "baller" – as dubbed by Mango – has also produced two goals and one assist in his last five appearances for club and country, which shows that he has been in fantastic form in the final third of late.
Hatate, meanwhile, has racked up three goals and two assists in 11 league games for the Hoops this season, which suggests that they both offer a relatively similar level of production in attack and this makes the Portuguese whiz the perfect player to come in for him.
Bernardo's last start for Celtic, however, came on the 16th of March against St. Johnstone, which shows that the Benfica loanee has not had many opportunities to impress from the start in recent weeks.
This is why Rodgers must finally unleash the 22-year-old maestro alongside Forrest for this clash with Dundee, to provide them both with a chance to catch the eye.
