Rodgers must drop Idah to unleash Celtic star who "raises the bar"
da gbg bet： Today is the day that Celtic could be crowned champions of the Scottish Premiership if they manage to avoid a defeat to Dundee United at Tannadice Park.
da esoccer bet： The Hoops only need a point to claim the title for the fourth year running, beating their city rivals to the crown once again, in the early kick-off this afternoon.
Brendan Rodgers is looking to seal his second title in as many seasons since his return to Parkhead, and could be ruthless with his team selection by dropping Adam Idah to the bench.
Why Adam Idah could be dropped
The Ireland international was given the nod from the start to play as the number nine against St. Johnstone at Hampden Park, with Daizen Maeda and James Forrest on the wings.
Idah got on the end of a perfect cross from Reo Hatate to bundle the ball in from close range in the 5-0 win over the Saints in the SFA Cup semi-final.
However, the former Norwich City attacker has failed to provide a goal or an assist in his last seven appearances in the Premiership, which shows that he has not been good enough at league level in recent weeks.
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With this in mind, Rodgers could ruthlessly ditch the striker from the team, despite his goal against St. Johnstone, and that would open up space for Jota to come back into the side on the wing.
Why Celtic should unleash Jota
The Northern Irish head coach could move Maeda back into the number nine role and that would free up the Portuguese attacker to play on the left side of the front three.
Jota, who came off the bench to score the fifth goal against the Saints, re-joined the Scottish giants in the January transfer window when he signed from Rennes on a permanent deal.
Since his return to Parkhead, the 26-year-old wing wizard, who Michael Stewart claims “raises the bar” and is a “game-changer” for the club, has hit the ground running with a return of four goals, three ‘big chances’ created, and two assists in six starts in the league.
This shows that, unlike Idah, Jota has been in fine form in the Premiership of late, with his ability to score and create goals on a regular basis from a wide position.
24/25 Premiership
Jota (per 90)
Percentile rank vs wingers
Goals
0.67
Top 3.9%
Expected Goals
0.51
Top 3.9%
xG on target
0.72
Top 1%
Shots on target
1.51
Top 1%
Assists
0.34
Top 17.6%
Expected Assists
0.39
Top 7.8%
Chances created
2.01
Top 21.6%
Stats via FotMob
As you can see in the table above, the former Al-Ittihad forward stacks up incredibly well against his positional peers in the Scottish top-flight, due to his impressive return of goals and assists.
These statistics show that Jota is an attacker who can make a big impact on a regular basis at the top end of the pitch, which is why Rodgers should bring him into the starting XI for this clash with Dundee United today.
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He has the game-changing quality that Celtic could need to get the point that will seal the Premiership title, which would be the Portuguese star’s third in his Hoops career.
