Celtic-Hearts Preview: Warmup for Midweek

By: JT | February 15th, 2008

Celtic take on Hearts tomorrow at Celtic Park in their first home match since mid-January. After thrashing both Kilmarnock and Aberdeen on the road the last two weeks by identical 5-1 scores, the Bhoys are looking for another similar performance heading into Wednesday’s Champions League encounter with Barcelona.

Celtic are remarkably injury-free, and the only real selection dilemma is Scott Brown. Obviously its imperative to win every match in the league since the Celts sit four points behind the Huns in the table, and Brown is a huge part of what Celtic do. But he’s suspended for the Barcelona match due to yellow card accumulation, so WGS may think of getting a game for the duo that’ll be out there on Wednesday nite.

Any two of Paul Hartley, Massimo Donati, and Barry Robson will be able to handle the task tomorrow, and I’d actually like to see what a Hartley-Robson axis in the center of midfield could do.

Donati’s been huge in Europe as a substitute, most notably with the last second winner against Shakhtar Donetsk, and I expect to see him in the XI tomorrow afternoon if Brown isn’t because he’s the more likely candidate to partner Hartley for the Barca match. Blooding Robson in a match of that magnitude wouldn’t be wise, methinks.

All that said, WGS likes what he likes, and Brown will be in his customary spot against Hearts with Hartley. But its certainly something to ponder. Shunsuke Nakamura and the white hot Aiden McGeady will man the flanks.

Celtic’s back five should be the same that has been playing so well of late. Artur Boruc will be marshaling a back four of Andreas Hinkel, Gary Caldwell, Stephen McManus and Lee Naylor.

I’m not sure that Georgios Samaras has done enough to earn a starting nod over Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink yet, so expect Big Jan to partner SPL leading scorer Scott McDonald up front.

Its been awesome to see Celtic dominate their last few matches the way they have after a run of less than stellar performances. But since the Bhoys’ last defeat in mid-December, they’ve drawn once and have now run off seven straight victories, with five coming in the league. During that stretch they’ve outscored opponents 21-3. Yeah, they should be doing that against domestic competition, but its much easier said than done, especially in the winter.

As for Hearts, they sit ninth in the table under caretaker manager Stephen Frail. Their recent form mirrors their performance all season. A win here, a loss there and a draw mixed in. They’re inconsistent, yet dangerous on their day.

Midfield Laryea Kingston is out with a foot injury, and Eggert Jonsson is likely to come back from a hamstring strain. Striker Christian Nade should be good to go after a virus knocked him out of last weekend’s win over Gretna. Leading scorer Adrius Velicka is the guy Celtic need to shut down.

Its impossible for me to imagine that Celtic are going to do anything but win this match handily. Everyone is playing to ensure their spot in the Barcelona match, and I expect a strong effort. A clean sheet would be welcome too.

This has the look of a 4-0 thumping, with McDonald grabbing a brace, Hartley snatching a rare goal, and a McManus header opening the scoring.

A solid win is in the cards, and then the anxious wait till Wednesday begins.