Forget Bitton: Ange must finally unleash Celtic's "brave" £4.95m-rated "threat" on Sun - opinion

After a hectic few weeks in the Premiership season, Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side enjoy a rest from their title charge on Sunday, with Raith Rovers visiting Parkhead in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.

With the greatest of respect to Rovers, a home tie against a team who currently occupy fourth place in the Championship should not pose the Premiership leaders too much trouble. The fixture is a perfect opportunity for Postecoglou to award some much-needed first-team minutes to some of his peripheral squad members – such as Stephen Welsh, Nir Bitton and Scott Bain – along with those returning from injury.

One player who falls into the latter category is Christopher Jullien, the centre-back who last featured for the Bhoys back in December 2020, with a cruciate ligament injury keeping the defender sidelined for over a year.

However, speaking about the 28-year-old, Postecoglou hinted in his pre-match press conference that the Frenchman could make a return to action this weekend, with the 56-year-old stating: “I get the level of anticipation with Chris because it’s a long-term injury and a significant player for this club and people are really keen.

“My assessment of those things is that with every player we look to give them an opportunity when we think the time is right, to give themselves the best chance to play. Chris has been training really well in terms of consistently being out there without any issues, which is important, that’s the first thing. The second thing is when does he get his opportunity?

“Look, he’ll be involved in the squad, definitely, on Sunday. Whether he gets any game time that depends on how I think the starting eleven will look or, if he’s not in the starting eleven, what changes I can make