Manager Brendan Rodgers has named his Celtic team vs Ayr United for tonight’s opening pre-season match of the summer.
The full squad is as follows:
Starting XI – Bain, Dede, Welsh, Nawrocki, Kobayashi, Iwata, Ure, Holm, Kuhn, Kyle, Kyogo.
Substitutes – Oluwayemi, Clarke, Yang, Oh, Kwon, Lawal, Frame, Murray, Agbair, Bonnar, Donovan, Hatton.
A group of Celtic players have been training for a week at Lennoxtown despite many stars yet to return from international duty and holiday.
The manager has made his selection from this core group, handing opportunities to youngsters such as Josh Dede, Kyle Ure and Andrew Kyle.
Yuki Kobayashi also makes a rare start for the club with a clutch of other fringe players and prospects on the bench hoping to get a golden chance to impress.
Broadcast details
Tonight’s match is being shown live by club streaming service Celtic TV.
All subscribers to the online channel, including those based in the UK & Ireland will have access to a live stream of the friendly.
There are no other means to watch the match with no direct pay-per-view service. The game is also not being broadcast on any radio stations.
Instant verdict on Celtic team vs Ayr United
There’s always keen intrigue surrounding the academy prospects in pre-season meetings such as this one and tonight is no different.
I expect many will be eager to see how the midfield functions with Ure in the middle as well as check in on Dede’s progress at right-back.
Kyle is the least known of the youngsters, starting aged just 17, but it’s always exciting to see what a young attacker has to offer.
Pre-season fixtures mean little apart from fitness but hopefully one or two of these talents can catch the eye and book a place on the USA tour later in the summer.
