As well as Jota & Kuhn: Rodgers must unleash Celtic's rarely-seen star
da mrbet： Celtic have the opportunity to claim a place in the final of the SFA Cup this afternoon when they face off against Scottish Premiership rivals St. Johnstone in the semi-finals.
da dobrowin： The Hoops are aiming to retain their crown in the competition after they beat Rangers 1-0 in the final last season, thanks to a last-minute strike by Adam Idah.
Brendan Rodgers will want his team to secure the trophy once again as it is likely to complete a domestic treble for his side, as they are on the verge of winning the Premiership and have already won the League Cup.
The Scottish giants should also come into this game with a fair bit of confidence, despite losing 1-0 to St. Johnstone in the league recently, because they come into it off the back of a 5-1 win over Kilmarnock in the top-flight.
Two goals from Reo Hatate and strikes from Daizen Maeda, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Anthony Ralston secured all three points for the club in emphatic style last time out.
However, Rodgers should still look to make some alterations to his starting line-up for this semi-final clash with St. Johnstone, by bringing Jota and Nicolas Kuhn back in.
Why Nicolas Kuhn and Jota should start for Celtic
James Forrest started the 5-1 win over Kilmarnock on the right side of the front three and failed to do enough to keep his place in the XI, as he ended his time on the pitch with zero goals, zero shots on target, zero key passes, and zero ‘big chances’ created.
The experienced Scottish forward did not provide enough quality at the top end of the pitch to justify his continued inclusion in the team, particularly when there is a player of Kuhn’s quality waiting in the wings to return to the line-up.
Celtic’s right wing battle
24/25 Premiership
Nicolas Kuhn
James Forrest
Appearances
28
18
Goals
10
0
Big chances created
10
3
Key passes per game
1.7
1.0
Assists
8
4
Completed dribbles per game
1.9
0.5
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the German attacker has offered significantly more in the final third than Forrest in the Premiership so far this term, with ten more goals and four more assists.
This suggests that Kuhn has a far greater chance of being a difference-maker in the clash with St. Johnstone this afternoon, because he has proven his quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals on the right wing.
Meanwhile, Adam Idah should also drop out of the side in order for Jota to be brought back in, which would allow Maeda to play through the middle, on the left wing.
The Portuguese starlet has scored four goals, created three ‘big chances’, and registered two assists in six league starts for Celtic since his permanent return to the club from Rennes in the January transfer window at the start of the year.
Jota has shown that he can still make a big impact at the top end of the pitch in a Hoops shirt, which is why he should come in for Idah after the striker’s dismal showing against Kilmarnock.
The Ireland international started last time out and played the opening 60 minutes without managing a single effort on goal. He also failed to create any chances for his teammates or complete any dribbles, as the forward failed to offer much, if any, quality in the final third.
Therefore, Rodgers must brutally ditch Idah and Forrest from the starting line-up in order to bring Jota and Kuhn into the team on the wingers, whilst moving Maeda into the centre-forward position against St. Johnstone.
Making alterations to the attacking set-up should not be the only tinkering that the Northern Irish head coach does, though, as the manager must boldly unleash Maik Nawrocki from the start.
Why Maik Nawrocki should start
The Polish central defender has rarely been seen on the pitch for Celtic this season. He has played two matches in the Premiership and made one substitute appearance in the SFA Cup.
Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, Liam Scales, and Dane Murray have been selected ahead of him at various points throughout the campaign in the centre-back positions, but he recently got two opportunities to shine against Rangers and Hearts in the league.
Injuries to Trusty, Scales, and Murray provided Nawrocki with a chance to prove that he has what it takes to be a key player for Celtic when called upon, which is exactly what he did.
Maik Nawrocki
Vs Rangers
Vs Hearts
Minutes
90
90
Clearances
7
9
Blocks
0
3
Tackles + interceptions
5
1
Duels won
7/10
8/9
Dribbled past
0x
0x
Pass accuracy
93%
98%
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the former Legia Warsaw star took his chance to prove himself in both of those matches, dominating the Rangers and Hearts attackers whilst being incredibly reliable in possession.
These statistics show that Nawrocki, who was once described as “aggressive” by Rodgers, has the defensive attributes to be a rock off the ball, as well as having the qualities on the ball that make him reliable in the build-up, and that is why the boss should use this cup match as an opportunity to bring him back in from the start.
Trusty and Scales, despite being naturally left-footed players who are more comfortable progressing the ball down that side, have shown that they have an error in them this season.
Scales has made one error that led to a shot and given away one penalty in the Premiership, whilst Trusty has made a staggering four errors that have led to shots and one that has led to a goal in the league.
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This shows that both of them are capable of making mistakes that can let teams back into games, which was the case when Nawrocki was dropped for Trusty in the 1-0 loss to St. Johnstone. The USA international slipped up down the left and needlessly fouled his man, which led to the winning goal.
Nawrocki has not made a single error that has led to a shot, goal, or penalty in 12 league appearances since the start of last season, which is why Rodgers must boldly unleash him ahead of the two left-footed defenders this afternoon.
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It is now down to the manager to make that big decision to take Scales out of the XI to bring the rarely-seen Polish colossus back into the side today.