Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side host St Mirren at Parkhead in the Scottish Premiership this afternoon as they attempt to bounce back from a defeat in the Old Firm last weekend.
The Hoops were beaten 3-0 last time out and will be hoping for a strong reaction on their own turf today to put that loss behind them as quickly as possible.
They come up against a side that has gone four games without a win, losing three of those, and this is an excellent opportunity for Celtic to return to winning ways.
To do that, the head coach could make some changes to his starting XI after a number of players failed to perform in the defeat at Ibrox.
Will David Turnbull start against St Mirren?
Postecoglou should finally unleash attacking midfielder David Turnbull from the start in the middle of the park as his creativity could help to unlock the opposition’s defence.
Reo Hatate, Callum McGregor, and Matt O’Riley produced one key pass between them last weekend and the ex-Motherwell man – who has created 34 chances in six starts (24 appearances) in the Premiership – could provide more invention in his passing.
His last start for the club came on the 18th of March against Hibernian and the former Motherwell sensation registered two assists in that match, which highlights the level of quality he can provide when given an opportunity to play meaningful minutes.
The 23-year-old, who Postecoglou once hailed as “outstanding“, has also terrorised St Mirren in the past. He has scored seven career goals – three more than against any other team – in 11 matches and has some great memories of facing them in the past.
At the start of the 2021/22 campaign, Turnbull recorded a perfect WhoScored rating of 10 as he scored a hat-trick in a 6-0 win over the Saints.
This shows that the Scotland international has the quality to provide a huge goal threat to go along with his creativity, whilst also having a history of being able to step up in games against today’s opposition.
The £16k-per-week maestro has assisted six goals and created four ‘big chances’ in six Premiership starts this term. This comes after he racked up 3.2 key passes per game and eight ‘big chances’ created in total in 20 starts in the division in 2021/22.
Turnbull has proven himself to be an excellent performer at Premiership level in terms of what he offers in the final third, both with his goalscoring contributions and his creativity, and that is why the ace should be unleashed from the start today after the Old Firm midfield offered very little.
