On the most recent edition of A Celtic State of Mind, host Paul John Dykes looked ahead to this weekend’s Old Firm clash and he shared his thoughts on the likelihood of French centre-back Christopher Jullien playing in Saturday’s game.
Jullien hasn’t featured for Celtic since their 5-0 win over Ross County on 12th September as the 27-year-old centre-back has been struggling with a back injury of late that has seen him sit out each of the Hoops’ last four Premiership matches, though he did make the bench for two of those games.
As per Hoops-focused website 67 Hail Hail, Nir Bitton has taken Jullien’s place in recent games and ‘impressed’ in the process, however, Bitton, as well as another Celtic centre-back, Hatem Abd Elhamed, recently tested positive for the current viral outbreak and as a result, this may leave the Hoops light on senior centre-back options for this weekend’s game, especially when you consider that they have played with three centre-backs in each of their last five league games.
With that in mind, it may be understandable why Dykes shared that he thinks Neil Lennon’s side will “have no real choice” but to bring Jullien back into the lineup for this weekend’s game, saying: “Jullien is going to have to play, we have no real choice.
“If you want to keep the shape there, you’re going to have to play Jullien. Even though he hasn’t played in around a month, you’ve got to put him in there. Does he perform well against Rangers? I think he does.”
Should Jullien start at the weekend?
YES
NO
TIF Thoughts…
So, as can be seen in what the podcaster had to say, clearly he thinks that Celtic have to bring Jullien back into the side for this weekend’s game.
Furthermore, despite the fact that the centre-back hasn’t played for the Hoops in just over a month due to injury, it seems as though Dykes is confident the 27-year-old will deliver a positive performance should he play at the weekend.
We feel it’s understandable why he feels this way, considering that Jullien has impressed in his previous appearances versus Celtic’s Old Firm rivals, as per 67 Hail Hail.
It will be interesting to see if Hoops boss Lennon shares a similar view to Dykes and opts to bring Jullien back into the side for what we feel is likely to be a hotly-contested derby match between these two sides that are separated by just one point at the top of the Premiership table at present – though Celtic have played one game less than their rivals.