Rodgers can drop Yang by unleashing Celtic “game winner” in brand-new role
da jogodeouro： Celtic return to action in the Scottish Premiership this afternoon as they prepare to welcome Hibernian to Parkhead after their Europa League clash in midweek.
da blaze casino： The Hoops were held to a 1-1 draw by Red Star Belgrade in Serbia on Wednesday night, as Marko Arnautovic cancelled out Kelechi Iheanacho’s opener.
Brendan Rodgers may look to make some changes to his starting line-up for this clash with Hibs in Glasgow, starting by dropping Hyun-jun Yang back down to the bench.
Why Hyun-jun Yang should be dropped
The South Korea international failed to register a shot on goal and did not create a single chance for his teammates in 68 minutes on the pitch against Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday night, per Sofascore.
Yang did find the back of the net in a 4-0 win over Championship side Partick Thistle, but his performances in the Premiership so far this season have not been good enough.
The 23-year-old forward has not scored or created a goal in his three appearances, including two starts, in the division this season, per Sofascore, and has only created one chance for the side in that time.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
With James Forrest, who has scored one league goal since the start of last season, being the only other natural right winger in the squad, Rodgers should get creative and unleash Luke McCowan in a brand-new role against Hibs.
The position Luke McCowan should play in against Hibernian
Per Transfermarkt, the Scottish midfielder has played centrally in every single one of his starts for the first-team since his move from Dundee last year.
However, unleashing the left-footed star on the right of the front three could be a move that makes a lot of sense for Celtic and for the player himself, given Yang and Forrest’s lack of consistent impact in that position.
McCowan, who was described as a “game winner” by Marvin Bartley, is a proven Premiership performer who knows how to make an impact at the top end of the pitch, as both a scorer and a creator of goals.
24/25 Premiership
Luke McCowan per 90
Percentile rank vs CMs
xG
0.31
Top 3%
Goals
0.46
Top 4%
Shots on target
1.26
Top 3%
xA
0.40
Top 3%
Assists
0.46
Top 5%
Chances created
2.51
Top 5%
Stats via FotMob
As you can see in the table above, the experienced operator was an outstanding performer among central midfielders in the league last season when you take his per 90 statistics into account.
McCowan delivered eight goals and eight assists, despite starting 16 of his 36 appearances, which shows that he has the quality to consistently contribute with goals and assists, unlike Yang and Forrest.
As a natural central midfielder, the Scottish whiz is composed and assured on the ball, having completed 85% of his passes in the league this season, which means that he could take the ball under pressure in wide positions.
What could make this positional tweak so impactful, though, is that it would allow McCowan to drift infield to support the other midfielders and move closer to Kelechi Iheanacho, whilst creating the space for Colby Donovan to advance into the last line out wide.
This would create more options in possession in the final third for Celtic without play becoming too congested out wide with Forrest or Yang next to Donovan out wide, as both wingers are right-footed and want to go down the line.
Whereas, McCowan can move inside to give the full-back the freedom of the flank, whilst creating favourable angles for him to play bounce passes into Iheanacho or to link up with the likes of Benjamin Nygren and Reo Hatate.
Therefore, Rodgers must unleash McCowan in a brand-new role on the right wing because it could improve the potency of Celtic’s attack against Hibernian, both because of the quality of the midfielder and the tactical advantage that it could provide.