Celtic are the in form team in Scottish football right now. They won the Scottish League Cup in December, by defeating Hibernian in the final through a brace from Kyogo Furuhashi. And Ange Postecoglou’s side have taken a one point lead in the Premiership title race as well and sit at the top with 12 league games left to be played, including a couple of Glasgow Derbies.
But Celtic are expected to always compete on all fronts and as a result, they will need to have an eye on the Scottish Cup as well.
The club won their previous match in the competition against Alloa Athletic but it is safe to say that it left a mark on their players, with multiple of them picking up injuries. That is the first thing that the Hoops will be looking to avoid when they take on Raith Rovers in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.
Raith Rovers are going through a decent campaign, currently sitting at fourth in the Scottish Championship and surely be looking to pull off an unlikely upset. On the other hand, with a number of options available to him, Postecoglou might take this opportunity to rest a few of his players, ahead of the first leg of the Europa Conference League tie against Bodo/Glimt.
Celtic Predicted XI vs Raith Rovers: Big changes coming
Here’s how we think Ange Postecoglou will line Celtic up when they take on Raith Rovers in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup:
Scott Bain
Vasilis Barkas and Scott Bain, Celtic. (Photo by Patrick Goosen/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
There have been suggestions that Bain has impressed Postecoglou in training. The goalkeeper has extended his contract with the club recently as well. And while firmly the second choice behind Joe Hart, this might be a good game for him to get some minutes while the English shot stopped gets a well deserved rest.
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