Celtic return to domestic action at Parkhead this afternoon as they prepare to welcome Ross County to Glasgow in the Scottish Premiership today.
The Hoops had their attention on the Champions League during the week as they played out a 1-1 draw with Belgian side Club Brugge at Paradise on Wednesday night.
A horror own goal from Cameron Carter-Vickers, who passed the ball into the bottom corner of his own net, had put the Pro League giants 1-0 up in the opening 45 minutes.
However, a brilliant second-half strike from Daizen Maeda pulled the Scottish giants level, before neither side were able to secure a winning goal in the game.
Brendan Rodgers will now have to select a side to continue Celtic’s dominance of the Premiership, a league in which his team are three points clear of second place Aberdeen.
One player who should be dropped from the starting XI for this clash with Ross County, after their performance against Club Brugge on Wednesday night, is Kyogo Furuhashi.
Why Kyogo Furuhashi should be dropped
The Japan international was selected ahead of Adam Idah to lead the line from the start in the Champions League match, and failed to justify his place in the side.
Kyogo found it incredibly difficult to get involved in the match, with his lack of physicality, and did not trouble the Club Brugge defenders much in his 76 minutes on the pitch.
He missed the only ‘big chance’ that came his way and, remarkably, did not compete in a single physical duel, on the ground or in the air, with an opposition defender, with his only duel won being a successful dribble.
Minutes
76
14
Touches
10
8
Passes completed
3/5
5/5
Defensive duels won
0/0
1/2
Fouls won
0
1
As you can see in the table above, Idah completed more passes and won more physical duels than Kyogo did, in just 14 minutes on the pitch off the bench.
The Ireland international, who scored two goals off the bench in the last Premiership clash with Hearts, should now be brought into the starting XI for this match against Ross County this afternoon, as the Japanese forward should be dropped down to the bench after his dismal showing on Wednesday.
Kyogo is not the only Celtic star who should be ruthlessly ditched from the line-up today, however, as Rodgers should also drop Greg Taylor from the team after his performance in the Champions League.
Greg Taylor's performance against Club Brugge
The Scotland international was selected ahead of Alex Valle to start at left-back against Club Brugge and let his manager down with a disappointing outing.
Taylor was substituted just before the hour mark after he had struggled in and out of possession at Parkhead in the Champions League clash up to that point.
His use of the ball was underwhelming, at best, with a pass completion rate of 80%, a long pass completion rate of 25%, and zero chances created for his teammates.
Taylor also let himself down with his work off the ball. The former Kilmarnock star lost one of his two duels on the ground and both of his aerial contests, which means that the opposition won 75% of their duels with the Scottish lightweight.
He was dribbled past once and only won one tackle in the match and these statistics do not suggest that the left-footed dud provided Rodgers with a reliable defensive presence down the left side of the pitch.
Minutes
90
Touches
118
Key passes
0
Ground duels won
4/9
Aerial duels won
1/3
Possession lost
26x
As you can see in the table above, Taylor also struggled in and out of possession from the start in the 4-1 win over Hearts last time out in the Premiership.
The 27-year-old defender lost the ball a staggering 26 times without creating a single chance from his 118 touches of the ball, which suggests that he was wasteful in possession.
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His five duels won out of 12 contested also shows that the opposition found it a little too easy to get the better of him, which was also the case for the game against Club Brugge.
The player who should start ahead of Greg Taylor
With Taylor’s poor performances against Hearts and Brugge in mind, Rodgers must ruthlessly ditch the Scotland international, as well as Kyogo, from the starting XI.
That would then open up a place in the line-up for Barcelona loanee Alex Valle to come in and play as part of the back four with Alistair Johnston, Carter-Vickers, and Auston Trusty.
The young Spaniard, who was an unused substitute against Hearts, produced a strong cameo in his 31 minutes off the bench against Club Brugge on Wednesday night.
As you can see in the clip above, it was the 20-year-old dynamo’s ball into the channel that allowed Maeda to brilliantly twist and fire into the far corner.
Alongside his assist, Valle completed 86% of his attempted passes and won three of his five duels, which shows that he offered more creativity in possession and more strength defensively than Taylor did.
Appearances
4
Starts
3
Big chances created
2
Assists
2
Ground duel success rate
60%
As you can see in the table above, the Barcelona youngster has not had many opportunities to shine in the Premiership this season since his temporary switch to Glasgow in the summer transfer window.
When he has had a chance to showcase his qualities, however, Valle has caught the eye with his strength in ground duels and his creativity from a left-back position.
The Spaniard has provided three assists in eight appearances and four starts in the Premiership and the Champions League combined, which suggests that he can come in to offer a creative threat down the left flank for Celtic this afternoon.
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Rodgers must, now, unleash Valle from the start, to improve his side’s defensive and offensive work, by dropping Taylor to the bench against Ross County.
