Celtic are top of the league with only five goals conceded, yet they come to Easter Road with a defence our absence list says is stretched, and with two losses in a row to Rangers behind them. Hibs are bottom, have scored only nine league goals, and have a new manager looking for a first result. So I'd frame this as a question: does a rotated Celtic back line give a blunt Hibs attack anything real to work with, or is the problem simply that Hibs struggle to create at all?
Celtic's side first. Per Sports Mole's preview, Yang Hyun-Jun is out and Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Callum Osmand are doubts, with Donovan, Murray, Scales and Tierney tipped to start at the back. Our own list also carries Trusty, Jota, van den Berg, Emenalo and Mheuka as unavailable or unlisted, but the reasons are not clear and reports differ on Trusty, so I wouldn't lean on that part. The domestic record is the opposite of their European mood: eight wins in nine league games, 23 scored, but Sports Mole counts just two wins in their last seven across all competitions, and the pressure on Martin O'Neill is rising.
Hibs' side. Marink Reedijk has lost both games in charge (1-0 at Dundee United, 2-1 to Falkirk), they have taken four league goals in six games, and Sports Mole notes six straight home league defeats before the Aberdeen draw. Martin Boyle leads them with three. The thing I'd watch is whether the new manager changes how they build. If it's the same thin supply to the forwards, even a patched Celtic back four might not be tested much.
Sources: Sports Mole preview (23 Oct) and our absence records.
