How Celtic could line up against Hibernian on Monday night amid Kyogo Furuhashi fitness doubts

The winter break has allowed Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou to spend extra time with his players on the training pitch as several first-team stars nearing their return from injury.

A capacity crowd is expected to descend on Parkhead tonight ahead of the Scottish Premiership resumption, with new Hibernian boss Shaun Maloney hoping his side can cause an upset.

It’s the start of another crucial run of fixtures for the Parkhead outfit with a trip through to Tynecastle to face Hearts coming before the second Old Firm clash of the season with Rangers taking place within the next fortnight.

New signings Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi could make their debuts this evening as Postecoglou aims to incorporate the Japanese trio into his team.

GlasgowWorld looks at how Celtic could line up against Hibs...

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Maeda, Hatate and Ideguchi all featured during a bounce game against St Mirren at Lennoxtown but it would be a surprise to see all three players handed a starting spot.

With a host of players now back in contention and the club’s injury crisis seemingly nearing an end, there could be a few changes made to the side that started the 3-1 win over St Johnstone on Boxing Day.

Star striker Kyogo Furuhashi is unlikely to feature as he continues his fitness battle with a niggly hamstring problem that could rule him out of Japan’s World Cup qualifiers at the end of the month.

I expect Celtic will line up 4-2-3-1 formation with Daizen Maeda spearheading the attack in Kyogo’s absence.

STARTING XI

GOALKEEPER - Joe Hart is a guaranteed starter given Scott Bain and Vasilis Barkas, who were handed a chance to impress in each of the Hoops last two matches, didn’t do enough to challenge the experienced Englishman for the gloves.

RIGHT-BACK - This is a difficult decision for Postecoglou to make. Anthony Ralston and Josip Juranovic have both performed to a high standard in the position this season but the latter was excellent as a wing-back against St Johnstone and I think the Croatian will remain in the starting XI.

CENTRE-BACKS - It’s hard to envisage Cameron Carter-Vickers being dropped with the Tottenham loanee arguably Celtic’s best defender so far this term. I expect him to continue his partnership with Carl Starfelt for this match.

Christopher Jullien is closing in on a long-awaited return to competitive action but is likely to be given another few weeks to get up to match fitness, while Stephen Welsh has been linked with a move to Udinese but the youngster is unlikely to leave the club.

LEFT-BACK - Scotland international Greg Taylor will reclaim his spot after his successful return from a shoulder injury last month. Liam Scales has also caught the eye in this position but will be named on the bench.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD - This is where the big questions start for Postecoglou. Skipper Callum McGregor is a stick-on to return after sitting out of the St Johnstone win during which Nir Bitton excelled in a deep-lying role. The Israeli could retain his place but I expect Yosuke Ideguchi or Reo Hatate to start in the number ‘8’ position.

Postecoglou seemingly enjoys adding an extra attacking midfielder and David Turnbull could play for the first time since limping off in the early stages of last month’s League Cup final. However, I think Tom Rogic will continue in an advanced role, a position he shone in last month.

LEFT-MIDFIELD - With Jota only returning to full training last week after receiving further treatment on a hamstring injury at his parent club Benfica, that could see James Forrest return to the side.

Forrest has spent most of his time at Parkhead on the right-wing but he impressed on the left at the start of the season and Postecoglou might feel inclined to ask him to fill that spot. The Scotland international’s positional flexibility offers the Australian options.

RIGHT-MIDFIELD - I expect Liel Abada to remain in his favourited position on the right-wing, despite thriving through the middle this season.

STRIKER - Talisman Kyogo is yet to return to training, so it appears increasingly likely that Daizen Maeda will be given the nod to start up front.

Renowned for his electric pace, the former Yokohama F. Marinos frontman is favoured over Giorgos Giakoumakis and new signing Johnny Kenny to lead the line.