Celtic continue their bid for a league and Scottish Cup double on Saturday afternoon with a big match against Aberdeen at Hampden.
The cup holders face off in their first semi-final of the season after a disappointing Scottish League Cup outing and are favourites to book their place in May’s showpiece final.
Brendan Rodgers confirmed in a Friday media conference that his team is almost at full strength for the fixture, apart from Daizen Maeda’s ongoing absence.
The manager has not quite ruled the Japanese winger out for the season yet but he definitely won’t make the squad at Hampden.
Elsewhere, Liam Scales returns to contention after missing out on last weekend’s win against St Mirren.
Potential Celtic team vs Aberdeen
Joe Hart will continue in goal, now just a handful of matches away from retirement but as motivated as ever to deliver silverware for Celtic.
Alistair Johnston was in fine form last weekend and will feature at right-back, while Greg Taylor will line up on the opposite flank.
Cameron Carter-Vickers is a certainty to start having improved the team massively in recent weeks. Liam Scales is most likely to partner him despite a start for Maik Nawrocki last week – Rodgers has consistently preferred the Irishman throughout the season.
In midfield, this could be the match that Callum McGregor makes his return to the starting eleven. He’s been used as a substitute for two weeks now and there’s been no apparent reaction to those minutes. Rodgers will be eager to get him back into the eleven for such a big occasion – the captain has the experience required to shine at Hampden.
Tomoki Iwata remains a viable option to anchor the midfield while Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate are nailed on to start regardless of who the third man is in the central area.
Kyogo Furuhashi has third at Hampden over the last few seasons and should get the nod today to help fire the Bhoys into the final. Adam Idah can come off the bench if necessary in the second half.
The winger line-up is less certain but it could be a day for Luis Palma to make his starting return after some fitness issues. He hasn’t made the eleven since February but returned as a substitute last week.
Nicolas Kuhn would be a good bet to line up on the right side, with Hyunjun Yang and James Forrest available to freshen things up as the game progresses.
Your Predicted XI in full is: Hart, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor, McGregor, Hatate, O’Riley, Kuhn, Palma, Kyogo.