It is stating the obvious to say that Brendan Rodgers has limited options for Thursday’s Europa League clash with Zenit St Petersburg.
By going with the 4-3-3 formation that had impressed against Hearts the Celtic boss demonstrated that he was flexible in his approach with a similar set up used to earn a 1-0 win over Zenit.
Callum McGregor and Eboue Kouassi were called in to fulfil special roles and carried them out to the letter with McGregor striking the first leg goal that could prove priceless.
As he demonstrated with the team that he picked to face Saint Johnstone progress in the Europa League is the priority with Sunday’s match at Aberdeen not a consideration.
Despite keeping a clean sheet in the last two matches there is little chance of Celtic going to Russia looking for a 0-0 draw although the emphasis will be on keeping it tight.
With the number of injury problems in defence Rodgers’ hand has been forced to an extent but as they proved in the first leg under pressure the back line can perform as an effective unit.