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Celtic turned in another disappointing display in Europe as they failed to muster a goal against Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt, losing the tie 5-1 on aggregate. However, Ange Postecoglou’s side still have plenty to play for this season.
They have a Scottish Cup quarter final to look forward to next month, while if they can maintain their current lead in the table, they can still end the campaign with a fifth domestic treble in six years.
The Hoops have been in imperious form domestically, winning 18 of 20 unbeaten league games since the start of October. They were ahead at both half time and full time in 16 of these, and having already beaten Hibs on three occasions this season across all competitions, shouldn’t allow their midweek disappointment to derail their momentum.
Hibernian have picked up victories in their past two outings, though one of these was a cup win over Championship leaders Arbroath, while the other was achieved at home to struggling Ross County. Prior to that, they’d lost four of seven winless games over 90 minutes, as they failed to register a goal on six occasions.
Celtic/Celtic - HT/FT
The sale of Martin Boyle to Al-Faisaly in January has certainly hindered their attacking output, with the winger contributing 14 goals and five assists across all competitions this season as he remains by far their top scorer this season.
The hosts also have a number of injury concerns, concentrated across the back line and in central midfield. Paul Hanlon, Paul McGinn and Joe Newell are all doubts, while Demetri Mitchell, Harry Clarke and Kyle Magennis are long-term absentees.
Experienced captain Hanlon is the biggest loss, should he fail to recover in time, with Hib’s poor recent form coinciding with his absence.
The visitors have fewer concerns on the injury from. David Turnbull remains sidelined in midfield, but Japanese duo Kyogo Furuhashi and Yosuke Ideguchi are closing in on returns and could potentially feature in some capacity here.
Aside from that, Postecoglou’s only other absentee is forgotten man Albian Ajeti, though the Swiss striker would have found himself behind both Giorgos Giakoumakis and Daizen Maeda in the pecking order regardless.
PREDICTION:
CELTIC/CELTIC - HT/FT
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