Opinion: Upcoming 180 minutes could see plenty of Celtic rotation

Following Celtic‘s epic 3-2 win over Aberdeen, which keeps the Bhoys at the top of the Premiership, the Hoops now have a bit of a break from league action.

Celtic will return to Premiership duty on the 20th of February, with a home fixture against Dundee, but before that, the Bhoys will play in two different competitions, with both games at Celtic Park.

Firstly, on the 13th of February Ange Postecoglou’s side will take on Raith Rovers in the last 16 of the Scottish Cup. The, on the 17th, the Bhoys are back in Europa League Conference action, in the first leg of a knockout tie against Bodo/Glimt.

What will be interesting is how the Celtic boss uses his squad in that 180 minutes of football. There is no doubt that the games are important, and we have already seen this season that the Hoops are taking cup competitions very seriously.

The Hoops have already won the first domestic trophy of the season – the Premier Sports Cup – and the Hoops boss risked Kyogo in a relatively meaningless Europa League Conference group stage game against Real Betis, a move which backfired as Kyogo has rarely featured since as he recovers from injury.

So you would expect Celtic to play strong teams in both games, but it would still be a bit of a surprise if there are a number of players who start both cup fixtures.

It would not be a surprise if fringe players were given a chance, especially against Raith Rovers, who are a Championship side and, with no disrespect meant, are a team that the Hoops should be looking to defeat even if plenty of first-team changes are made.

That could well mean that the likes of Scott Bain, Stephen Welsh, and James Forrest, who have not featured that often for the Hoops recently, might well get a start against the