{"id":17497,"date":"2025-11-07T20:41:59","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T20:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/2025\/11\/07\/bernardo-to-start-predicted-4-2-3-1-celtic-lineup-to-face-kilmarnock\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T20:41:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T20:41:59","slug":"bernardo-to-start-predicted-4-2-3-1-celtic-lineup-to-face-kilmarnock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/2025\/11\/07\/bernardo-to-start-predicted-4-2-3-1-celtic-lineup-to-face-kilmarnock\/","title":{"rendered":"Bernardo To Start? | Predicted 4-2-3-1 Celtic Lineup To Face Kilmarnock"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

After a hard-fought win against ten-man Rangers in the League Cup semifinal, Martin O\u2019Neill\u2019s Celtic were handed a reality check by Midtjylland in Denmark on Thursday night. The Europa League leaders clinched a comprehensive 3-1 win, thus exposing the Hoops\u2019 frailties across the pitch. The veteran boss must now demand a reaction from his men, as a setback against Kilmarnock would further jeopardise their title defence.<\/p>\n

Killie suffered an injury-time heartbreak when debutant Kelechi Iheanacho scored from the spot to snatch a 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture at Rugby Park. Celtic<\/a> are already nine points behind league leaders Hearts. Yet they should secure a comprehensive win, given their opponents are on a four-game winning streak ahead of the Parkhead encounter.<\/p>\n

Defence<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Kasper Schmeichel had a difficult night in Herning and Ikast. But he would hope for a relatively quiet evening against the struggling East Ayrshire outfit.<\/p>\n

\"Celtic
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND \u2013 JANUARY 18: Daizen Maeda of Celtic celebrates scoring his team\u2019s second goal during the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup Fourth Round match between Celtic and Kilmarnock at Celtic Park on January 18, 2025, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Injuries to Alistair Johnston and Cameron Carter-Vickers decimate the Bhoys in the defensive third. Anthony Ralston should keep his place on the right until the Canadian regains match fitness, and so should Auston Trusty, who has replaced his fellow USMNT centre-half in the heart of the backline. Liam Scales and Kieran Tierney are expected to operate from their respective central defensive and left fullback roles.<\/p>\n

Midfield<\/strong><\/h3>\n

O\u2019Neill has switched to a \u2018double pivot\u2019 from Celtic\u2019s traditional three-man midfield formation. Skipper Callum McGregor has partnered with Arne Engels, and the Northern Irish chief should stick to his system, regardless of his side\u2019s midweek defeat against the Danish giants. Engels\u2019 hamstring<\/a> strain could see Paulo Bernardo earn a rare start in the middle of the park, whereas Reo Hatate and Luke McCowan might get involved as second-half substitutes.<\/p>\n

ResultMinds Ad 1 <\/ins> <\/p>\n

Benjamin Nygren has already been deployed in various midfield and attacking slots since his summer arrival. The Swedish international could once again feature as a \u2018number 10\u2019 to bridge the gap between midfield and attack. James Forrest should make way for Daizen Maeda down the right, as the latter would offer more firepower high up the pitch. Sebastian Tounekti has cemented a starting spot since joining the Celts late in the summer window, and the Tunisian must improve his finishing and decision-making to retain his starting status ahead of Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Hyun-Jun Yang.<\/p>\n

Attack<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Johnny Kenny and Callum Osmand have stepped in and delivered amid Iheanacho\u2019s injury absence. Osmand deserves a nod from the start following an impressive second-half performance on his European debut; however, a devastating hamstring injury towards the end might rule him out for weeks. Kenny would have another opportunity to impress, with outcast shin Yamada being the only other outright \u2018number 9\u2019 option.<\/p>\n

\"football<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a hard-fought win against ten-man Rangers in the League Cup semifinal, Martin O\u2019Neill\u2019s Celtic were handed a reality check by Midtjylland in Denmark on Thursday night. The Europa League leaders clinched a comprehensive 3-1 win, thus exposing the Hoops\u2019 frailties across the pitch. The veteran boss must now demand a reaction from his men, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12953,"featured_media":17498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12953"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}