Team News: O’Neill makes four Celtic changes as Hatate starts at Aberdeen

Martin O’Neill has made four changes to the Celtic side that started at Ibrox for tonight’s match at Aberdeen.

Vil Sinisalo remains in goals behind the same back four but elsewhere there are changes and freshness.

Reo Hatate and Luke McCowan join Callum McGregor in midfield with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ben Nygren dropping onto the bench.

In attack Yang Hyun-jun survives on the right wing and is joined by Tomas Cvancara and Sebastian Tounekti.

Tonight’s match is Celtic’s game in hand over Hearts, an away win cuts the gap at the top down to five points.

Celtic have dropped five points in their last two SPFL matches but full points tonight puts then close on the trail of Derek McInnes’ side.

ABERDEEN V CELTIC BACKGROUND

Way back in August Celtic won 2-0 at Pittodrie thanks to goals from Hatate and Nygren.

That was to be a rare away day success in a turbulent start to the season.

Jimmy Thelin and Brendan Rodgers were in the dug-outs that day although neither was to last very long into the season.

When Thelin lost to Wilfried Nancy in December it looked bleak for the Swede. Tonight Peter Leven is back in the familiar position of caretaker.

After losing 1-0 away to Hearts on Saturday almost all hope of atop six finish has been extinguished as the Dons endure another season of turbulence.

Saturday’s Scottish Cup tie away to Dunfermline offers some respite but defeat tonight tonight will offer hope to St Mirren and Kilmarnock as they battle to get away from the bottom of the table.

After the Ibrox comeback Celtic have to deliver three points game by game.

There is another Ibrox trip coming up but edging into second place, five points behind Hearts is all that matters tonight.

CELTIC: Sinisalo; Araujo, Murray, Scales, Tierney, McGregor, Hatate, McCowan; Yang, Cvancara, Tounekti

SUBS: Doohan, Nygren, Adamu, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Saracchi, Maeda, Arthur, Forrest, Donavan