Celtic are back in Premiership action tomorrow as they look to continue their 100% winning record with viictory over Hearts.
The Hoops’ previous league outing saw them secure a convincing 5-0 win over Kilmarnock, which saw five different players get their names on the scoresheet.
One player who grabbed a goal last weekend despite not being included in the starting XI, and who we feel should be starting on this occasion, is Carl Starfelt.
After replacing Moritz Jenz with 55 minutes on the clock, the defender not only netted Celtic’s fourth goal of the game but also showed how useful he can be defensively by making two clearances and winning five of his seven duels.
This performance ultimately earned the 27-year-old an overall match rating of 7.6/10 from SofaScore, making him the joint-second highest rated Celtic player to feature at Rugby Park.
Postecoglou will not need reminding of what the Sweden international is capable of producing at the back, as Starfelt ended the previous campaign with the second-highest number of interceptions (42) and successful tackles (30) in the squad, along with the second-highest average for clearances per game (3.6).
This explains why the centre-back was described as a “crucial” player for the Hoops in April by football writer Sacha Pisani.
Bearing in mind how Starfelt came on against Kilmarnock after Jenz picked up an injury, this could persuade Postecoglou to give the 27-year-old his first league start of the campaign rather than risk playing the German again.
Taking into account how the Bhoys (27) are the only top-flight team to have more shots on target than Hearts (22) prior to this weekend’s round of fixtures, having a player with Starfelt’s defensive credentials could be crucial in seeing Celtic pick up another win and continuing their charge to retain the league title.
Therefore, it’s safe to say that Celtic need to have the £17k-per-week defender in the team from the start tomorrow afternoon in order to fill in for Jenz and provide a stern challenge for a Hearts team who are far from shot-shy.
With Sunday’s game in mind, it would surely be in the Hoops’ best interest to have the Sweden international in from the start to ideally get a full 90 minutes under his belt and have him up to speed after not featuring in their first two league games of the season prior to last weekend.
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