Celtic starting XI vs Hibs: Rodgers makes solitary change for Scottish Cup QF tie as criticised star benched

Brendan Rodgers has named his Celtic starting XI and substitutes to face Hibs in their Scottish Cup quarter-final tie at Parkhead this afternoon.

The Hoops continue their defence of the trophy with a tasty showdown against the in-form Leith outfit, who ran out 2-1 Edinburgh Derby winners over Hearts last weekend and will be backed by a sold-out 7,000-strong away allocation.

Celtic brushed aside Championship club Raith Rovers 5-0 in the previous round of the competition, while the Hibees edged out Scott Brown’s Ayr United 1-0 at Somerset Park

Rodgers has made just ONE change to his line-up from the 5-2 Scottish Premiership win over St Mirren in Paisley last weekend with Jota replacing criticised frontman Adam Idah in attack. Daizen Maeda will play through the middle to accommodate the Portuguese winger.

Idah’s form has come under the microscope at times this season, with former Hoops boss Neil Lennon recently branding the Republic of Ireland international “too inconsistent”. Centre-back Liam Scales misses out with a facial injury, but Auston Trusty and skipper Callum McGregor have both recovered after being forced off with knocks against the Buddies.

What has midfielder, Luke McCowan said?

“We’re looking forward to it – knock-out football, you can’t get much better than that when you’re involved in it. Obviously, they get to bring a bigger allocation than normal as well, so that will be exciting for the neutral I’d imagine, but we’re focused on the game and really looking forward to it.

“We’re fully focused on this game. You’ve got to go and enjoy it and cherish it. And by enjoying it, you need to go and put a performance on that leads to you going through.”

Here's your confirmed starting line ups ahead of today’s encounter in the East End of Glasgow...

Celtic starting XI: (4-3-3)

Kasper Schmeichel, Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, Jeffrey Schlupp; Callum McGregor (C), Arne Engels, Reo Hatate; Jota, Nicolas Kuhn, Daizen Maeda.

SUBS: Viljami Sinisalo (GK), Greg Taylor, Adam Idah, Yang Hyun-jun, Luke McCowan, Johnny Kenny, Dane Murray, Anthony Ralston.

Hibernian starting XI: (4-2-3-1)

Jordan Smith; Lewis Miller, Martin Boyle (C), Chris Cadden, Jack Iredale, Nicky Cadden, Kieron Bowie, Nathan Moriah-Welsh, Nectar Triantis, Josh Campbell, Rocky Bushiri.

SUBS: Josef Bursik (GK), Warren O’Hora, Dylan Levitt, Elie Youan, Jordan Obita, Junior Hoilett, Dwight Gayle, Mykola Kukharevych.