Celtic take to the field at Parkhead this evening in their first European match of the 2024/25 campaign against SK Slovan in the Champions League.
The Hoops watched on as the first round of fixtures took place on Tuesday night and will now be looking to add their name to the list of winners on match-day one.
There were some intriguing scorelines on Tuesday, including Bayern Munich beating Dinamo Zagreb 9-2, and Brendan Rodgers will be hoping for a strong win tonight.
The Glasgow giants do head into this match off the back of an impressive start to the season at domestic level, both in the Scottish Premiership and the League Cup.
Celtic have won all six of their games in all competitions and conceded one goal, with five clean sheets and five wins in five matches in the top-flight.
The Premiership champions come into this clash with Slovan off the back of a 2-0 win over Hearts at Parkhead on Saturday, but that win, and their fantastic start to the campaign, does not mean that the starting XI is immune to change.
One player who could be in danger of losing his position in the line-up for this Champions League match is central midfielder Reo Hatate.
Why Reo Hatate should be dropped
Rodgers must bin the Japan international from the starting XI due to his last two performances in the Premiership and his previous form in Europe for the club.
The 26-year-old ace has not been at his glittering best in the last two games for Celtic, against Rangers and Hearts, and has left himself open to being dropped from the team.
In the 3-0 win over the Gers at the start of the month, Hatate lost the physical battle – losing four of his six duels – and missed a ‘big chance’ to find the back of the net, firing wide after finding himself in front of goal from six yards out on the left side of the box.
Against Hearts, the Japanese midfielder was too easily beaten by opposition players in physical contests, as he lost four of his seven ground duels.
The central midfielder was also sloppy in possession against the Jam Tarts. He only completed 74% of his attempted passes and lost possession 20 times, without registering a goal or an assist.
Hatate also featured in the Champions League for Celtic last season and his struggles from the last two games, in and out of possession, were on display in those games.
Appearances (starts)
3 (3)
Goals + assists
0
Pass accuracy
72%
Tackles + interceptions
0
Ground duel success rate
33%
Aerial duel success rate
0%
As you can see in the table above, the physicality of the matches in Europe was too much for the Japanese lightweight to handle, as he lost the majority of his ground duels and all of his aerial contests, whilst not making a single tackle or interception.
Hatate’s 72% pass completion rate, with zero goal contributions, also shows that he struggled to retain possession for his side, which shows that the midfielder did not offer much on or off the ball in the Champions League last term.
With this and his recent performances in mind, Rodgers must brutally bin him from the starting XI and unleash Luke McCowan for the first time.
Luke McCowan's time with Celtic so far
The Scottish giants swooped to sign the 26-year-old dynamo from Premiership rivals Dundee on deadline day for a reported fee of £1m to bolster their squad.
He made his debut less than 48 hours after his arrival at Parkhead, playing 13 minutes off the bench against Rangers, and captain Callum McGregor claimed after the game that the ex-Dundee man has “massive quality”.
The left-footed gem was then handed ten minutes off the bench against Hearts and caught the eye, winning two of his three duels, making one tackle and one interception, and scoring the second goal for Celtic.
James Forrest played the ball back to him on the edge of the box and the midfield maestro found the far bottom corner with a well-taken strike from range.
That offered a glimpse at the quality McGregor reference after the Old Firm clash and Rodgers must now unleash him from the start, in the hope that his form for Dundee over the last 13 months carries over to his time at Parkhead.
Luke McCowan's quality for Dundee
The Scottish star started the current campaign with two goals and one assist in three appearances for Dundee in the Premiership, before his move to Paradise.
He also won eight tackles and made six interceptions, whilst winning 15 of his 22 ground duels, in those three outings, which shows that the £1m-rated ace can contribute at both ends of the pitch.
It suggests that the summer signing could come in and off more of a defensive presence than Hatate, who has struggled with his ground duels in recent games and in Europe last term, to win the midfield battle against Slovan this evening.
His impressive start to this season comes off the back of a fantastic 2023/24 campaign for McCowan in the Scottish top-flight, as he showcased his quality week-in-week-out.
Appearances
37
Goals
10
Big chances created
9
Assists
5
Tackles + interceptions per game
2.5
As you can see in the table above, the former Dundee wizard caught the eye with his ability to provide a big threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals in the middle of the park.
He hit double figures for goals and may have been frustrated to end the season with only five assists to his name, as his teammates failed to make the most of the nine ‘big chances’ that he created for them throughout the campaign.
Meanwhile, Hatate has never managed more than six league goals in a single season in the Premiership for Celtic, which suggests that McCowan would offer more as a goalscorer for Rodgers in that central midfield slot.
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The possible line-up that Brendan Rodgers could select for this Champions League clash.
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Therefore, Rodgers must ditch the Japan international from the starting XI to unleash the Scotsman from the start for the first time, due to his defensive and offensive qualities.