CELTIC
LAST SEASON: 1st, 79 points
NOTABLE INS: Virgil Van Dijk (Groningen, £2m), Amido Balde (Vitoria Guimaraes, £1.8m), Steven Mouyokolo (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
NOTABLE OUTS: Victor Wanyama (Southampton, £12m), Gary Hooper (Norwich City, £5m), James Keatings (Hamilton Academical), Daryl Murphy (Ipswich Town), Thomas Rogne (Wigan Athletic), Rami Gershon (Standard Liege, end of loan), Miku (Getafe, end of loan), Viktor Noring (Trelleborg, end of loan), Lassad Nouioui, Paddy McCourt
LAST SEASON'S BEST XI (departed players crossed out): Forster, Matthews, Ambrose, Wilson, Mulgrew, Forrest, Brown,
THE SQUAD (u-21 players in italics)
Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster, Lukasz Zaluska
Defenders: Efe Ambrose, Joe Chalmers, Marcus Fraser, Emilio Izaguirre, Mikael Lustig, Adam Matthews, Steven Mouyokolo, Charlie Mulgrew, Lewis Toshney, Virgil Van Dijk, Kelvin Wilson
Midfielders: Scott Brown, Kris Commons, Paul George, John Herron, Jackson Irvine, Beram Kayal, Joe Ledley, Dylan McGeouch, Tom Rogic, Filip Twardzik
Forwards: Bahrudin Atajic, Amido Balde, James Forrest, Georgios Samaras, Anthony Stokes, Tony Watt
IF HE GETS INJURED, THEY'RE SCREWED: Of course there is plenty of depth in every position, but the man Celtic would miss most is probably keeper FRASER FORSTER, who enhanced his reputation with his Champions League performances and who is far superior to backup Lukasz Zaluska.
STAR OF THE FUTURE? TONY WATT announced himself with that goal against Barcelona...and didn't really do much after that. If he's to fulfil his great potential, the striker needs to establish himself as a first choice soon.
THE SEASON AHEAD: If Celtic don't win the title again, it will be the biggest shock in Scottish football history. Domestically, expectations are sky-high to the point that anything other than a treble would he underwhelming. The focus will be primarily on repeating last year's European success, but this will be tough to manage without Victor Wanyama and Gary Hooper. While there is more than enough firepower to bludgeon their Scottish opponents, Hooper's guile will be sorely missed against the continent's elite.
THE BEST XI?
Speculating at Celtic's strongest starting lineup is a pretty pointless exercise. You could fit in Matthews, Van Dijk or Mulgrew into the back four, Ledley and Rogic (and Mulgrew too) into midfield, or Stokes and/or Samaras up front, without this side being weakened. In league games, a 4-4-2 is likely to be used, but I'd expect a 4-2-3-1 for Europe. It will be interesting to see if Kris Commons sees more time in an advanced role off the centre forward, where he looked terrific in the second half of last season. Will Kayal be able to adequately replace Wanyama? It's possible Ambrose will be moved into midfield to provide a more physical presence. If Celtic have a weakness, it's in the middle of the pitch, especially if/when Scott Brown gets crocked.
THE BOSS: In Europe last season, he often looked like a tactical genius; domestically, he often seemed to have problems getting the best out of his players. Would the real Neil Lennon please stand up? Given that another title appears a formality, it would take an awful lot for the Celtic manager to lose the support of the club and the support. It would do his team no harm if he could avoid his usual quota of touchline bans this season though.
CLICHE YOU'RE MOST LIKELY TO HEAR: "Playing in second gear"
PREDICTION: Yes, of course they are going to finish as CHAMPIONS. It's so obvious that the already daft league name should be changed from "Scottish Professional Football League" to "Celtic Are Certain To Win The League".
L.
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