Rodgers must unleash Celtic’s “superb” menace alongside Johnston

Fresh from putting three past Dundee in a dominant display on Boxing Day, Scottish champions Celtic return to Premiership action this afternoon in what is a highly anticipated Old Firm derby, with the two Glasgow sides currently vying for dominance at the top of the table.

The Hoops currently lead the way courtesy of a five-point gap separating themselves and Philippe Clement’s Rangers, albeit with the Light Blues having two games in hand at present, ensuring there is certainly everything to play for heading into today’s fixture.

There will certainly be a lot of intrigue regarding the selection decisions that Brendan Rodgers could make for the visit of the Gers, with the frontline, in particular, having failed to click into gear for much of Tuesday’s contest.

In truth, it wasn’t until the introduction of Mikey Johnston that the visitors were able to put the seal on the win, hence why the Republic of Ireland international should be in contention to start this time around.

Mikey Johnston’s game in numbers vs Dundee

Rodgers will no doubt have been scratching his head that his side weren’t able to produce an even more convincing display in front of goal in midweek, with it taking until the 83rd minute to finally add a second of the day, following Paul Bernardo’s opener early in the second half.

With 74% possession and 38 shots on goal in total, the Bhoys should really have wrapped things up far sooner, with Kyogo Furuhashi, in particular, missing a gilt-edged chance after being played in by Matt O’Riley in the first half.

Amid the danger of potentially squandering that slim one-goal lead late on, up stepped Johnston to prove the difference maker off the bench with a fine late cameo, making the breakthrough with almost his first touch after entering the fray.

Cutting in off the left flank, the 24-year-old – who spent last season on loan at Vitoria Guimaraes – saw his drilled effort squirm under the hapless Trevor Carson, prior to then adding a second in stoppage time, lashing home inside the penalty area.

While it looked like time was up for the former wonderkid at Celtic amid his move to Portugal, his recent return to form will be a welcome sight for those at Parkhead, with Rodgers certainly needing to consider unleashing Johnston today – alongside Oh Hyeon-gyu.

The reasons why Oh should start for Celtic vs Rangers

There’s no denying it would be a brave call to drop Kyogo for such a pivotal fixture, albeit with the Japanese marksman having been rather off the boil of late, scoring just once in his last seven league outings.

Having been the go-to man for Ange Postecoglou over the last few seasons – scoring 34 goals in all competitions in 2022/23, the former Vissel Kobe man now looks ‘bereft of confidence‘, in the words of Football Scotland’s Ryan MacDonald, as that midweek miss can attest to.

The 28-year-old has, of course, been a regular thorn in the side of the Ibrox outfit with six goals in just ten meetings to date, as per Transfermarkt, yet with Oh waiting in the wings, Rodgers may have a decision to make.

The latter man has only made three starts this season in the league, yet does still have five goals to his name, memorably bagging a brace when given the nod from the start in the 4-1 triumph over Hibernian earlier this month.

The £9k-per-week menace – who has been described as “superb” by Rodgers – does boast a respectable tally of 12 goals in 43 appearances for the club since signing in January, proving that he is perhaps worthy of a rare chance to lead the line from the off later today.

That may be too big of a gamble for some, but with the option of unleashing Kyogo against tired Rangers legs off the bench, that tactical tweak could well pay dividends.