Celtic are all set to get their hands on the Scottish Premiership trophy after the international break. The Bhoys will win their fifth title in a row if they get a win at Hearts on the 2nd of April, or even earlier if Aberdeen slip up in their game against Dundee FC.
Celtic are very much in contention to complete a domestic treble. Having already won the League Cup back in November 2016 when they beat Aberdeen 3-0 in the finals, and the league title almost in the bag, Celtic will go up against arch-rivals Rangers in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup in April.
They have got the better of the Gers on three of four occasions the two sides have met this season, with their latest encounter ending in a 1-1 draw earlier this month. Considering the recent results, Celtic stand every chance of progressing to the finals of the Scottish Cup in May. However, there have been a few players who haven’t been performing up to the mark in recent weeks and here we pick three such players who need to pull their socks up and step up in the final few weeks of the season and lead the Bhoys to a treble:
Mikael Lustig
The Swedish right-back has been caught out a few times in recent weeks and has looked suspect. Lustig did not enjoy the best of the night against Rangers two weeks back. He was found wanting on quite a few occasions against Dundee last week, where he was beaten a number of times down the line and in the inside channel as well.
The 25-year allowed his man get past him way too easily and that needs to change. He will need to step it up and put in more solid displays for the Bhoys as they approach the closing stages of the season.
Scott Sinclair
The summer signing has had a great start to life in Scotland and is the club’s second top scorer in the Scottish Premiership with 15 goals this season. However, he has managed to score just once in his last five Premiership games and has been very poor in the last two games; against Rangers and Dundee.
He hasn’t been able to impose himself on the game and has been largely ineffective in recent weeks. With Moussa Dembele also not scoring in the last two games, it becomes very important for Sinclair to step it up a notch in the coming weeks. And he may well have the perfect opportunity to do so against Hearts immediately after the international break, against whom he has already scored thrice in two games this season.
Dedryck Boyata
The 26-year old centre-half has been preferred over Jozo Simunovic in recent weeks by Brendan Rodgers and has started all of their last 10 Premiership games. But the former Manchester City man is yet to convince many critics about his abilities.
Boyata slows down the pace of the game for the Bhoys when in possession and on quite a few occasions, has been left dead in his tracks; most recently by Martyn Waghorn of Rangers two weeks back and by Faissal El Bakhtaoui of Dundee last week, where his error led to a goal. With Rodgers continuing to persist with him, Boyata will need to put in improved displays for Celtic.
