Stefan Scepovic looks set to be given his chance to impress against Astra tonight.
The former Sporting Gijon striker has still to score a goal- or play 90 minutes- since joining Celtic on the final day of the summer transfer window.
John Guidetti is unavailable for selection due to SFA incompetence forcing Ronny Deila into at least one change to the side that hammered Ross County 5-0 on Saturday.
Switching Anthony Stokes into the ‘Guidetti role’ would be one option open to Deila but yesterday he hinted strongly that Scepovic is set to get his vote.
“He is very hungry to play and he wants to show himself,” Deila explained about the Serb striker. “He came on against Ross County and had a good chance there and you can see in his eyes he wants to improve.
“He is a good player. I’ve seen him score some fantastic goals in training this week. I’m looking forward to seeing more from him on the pitch.”
Last week Scepovic scored against Hamilton Accies for the development team and showed signs of improvement during his 20 minute run against Ross County.
A long list of strikers have failed to make an impact after moving to Celtic but Deila is confident that Scepovic is ready to succeed.
“It’s not only two or three times in the gym and you are there, it takes maybe half a year to get the strength we want,” the Celtic boss added. “But he’s working all the time. It’s also about mentality. Against Ross County he kept the defender working, his touch was good, so he has to go on from there.”
Emilio Izaguirre looks like being available despite taking a heavy knock against Ross County.