After over a fortnight since their last game due to the winter break, Celtic will return to action in a bid to continue their impressive season as they kick-start their Scottish Cup campaign.
This is a competition that the club has enjoyed a lot of success in, as no team has won it more times than the Hoops, who claimed the trophy for the 43rd time last season by defeating Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3-1.
There should be no shortage of momentum for Celtic heading into this weekend despite the break, as Brendan Rodgers‘s men have won their last four matches.
The Hoops dominated St Mirren during their most recent outing, securing a 3-0 win courtesy of goals from Daizen Maeda, Matt O’Riley and Greg Taylor.
Attacking displays have been at the heart of everything Celtic have achieved this season, which is highlighted by the fact that no team has scored more than their 53 goals in the Scottish Premiership.
That is something that Buckie Thistle will be aware of heading into this weekend as they prepare to face the Hoops in a competitive match for the first time in their history.
Competing in Scotland’s Highland Football League, the visitors will be enormous underdogs on Saturday as one of the lowest-ranked teams left in the competition, but that has not stopped upsets from happening in the past.
The Jags have been impressive in the tournament so far, starting in the first round with a 4-0 win against Tayport before knocking out Forres Mechanics with 10 men in the second round.
While Rodgers might traditionally look to rest some of his key players in the early stages of this competition, considering the team has not played in several weeks he may opt to focus on getting everyone back up to speed immediately with a stronger starting lineup.
There could be opportunities for younger players and fringe members of the squad from the bench later in the game, and Saturday could also be the time for Nicolas Kuhn to make his debut for the club after signing from Rapid Vienna.
Liel Abada and Reo Hatate were both starting to return from injury before the winter break, therefore this weekend could be used to get them back up and running at match speed from the first minute.
It could be a family affair at the weekend too as Buckie Thistle’s third-round hero Peters might end up coming up against his cousin Stephen Welsh, but only if the Hoops defender can overcome his recent injury.
The Jags will be without Scott Adams this weekend after he was sent off in the third round, which will force at least one change to the team that started that game.
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Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; Johnston, Nawrocki, Scales, Taylor; McGregor, Hatate, O’Riley; Palma, Furuhashi, Abada
Buckie Thistle possible starting lineup:
Knight; Ramsay, McHardy, Murray, Munro; Wood, Pugh, Maciver, Barry, Goodall; Peters
