In tonight’s crucial Champions League match between Celtic and Atletico Madrid, all eyes will be on Brendan Rodgers to decide on his starting team.
The Celtics management rested several players against Ross County in preparation for the match against the dominant team in La Liga. I’ll discuss my expected starting eleven later, but I think James Forrest has a real chance to start tonight in Madrid. And I will explain why.
Why James Forrest may matter for Celtic this evening
Think back to Celtic Park and the 2-2 draw. Throughout the opening sixty minutes of the game, Celtic dominated. The second half saw a fatigued Celtic unable to break out of the cosh for around 20 minutes, a testament to the energy and vitality that was unleashed to take the lead twice against the La Liga heavyweights.
Upon observing this, Brendan Rodgers made the decision to sit Kyogo Furuhashi and start the “brilliant” Forrest.
That replacement caused quite a stir at the time, with many analysts speculating that Rodgers was sending Oh a message that he didn’t trust him in the Champions League.
However, Rodgers stated at the time that he wanted the squad to be wider since Celtic was having trouble breaking out of their own half.
It’s going to be the same tonight, if not worse. The counterattack will be crucial as Diego Simeone’s team looks to hit Celtic right away.
James Forrest’s strength and quickness may be crucial in this situation. He and Daizen Maeda will be down both flanks for Celtic, giving them an out ball to assist relieve some of the pressure.
I am aware that many will argue Hyunjun Yang could do the same function, yet the Korean has fallen short at key moments. Although he is performing well right now, Forrest’s experience could be very important in helping Celtic win this evening.
Forrest will play tonight if he doesn’t start, but I believe the 32-year-old has a good chance of winning the starting job.
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