3 Celtic players with a point to prove against Falkirk, including centre-back
Celtic are back in action on Sunday when they face Falkirk away from home in a tricky looking away day. The Bhoys were held to a home draw against Dundee United during the week, and we are starting to see some signs of tired legs in a busy schedule.
Martin O'Neill's men still hold a four-point lead over closest rivals Rangers, while Falkirk are down in sixth place but enjoying a solid season, beating Aberdeen away from home during the week.
Ahead of the game, we have taken a look at three players with a point to prove in this game, and we are leaving Kasper Hogh out of this one, just to change things up.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Oxlade-Chamberlain came off the bench against Dundee United, and he should be in line for a bigger opportunity here. Callum McGregor has been dealing with a heavy workload over this busy period, and at 33 years of age, it will be a big ask for him to start here.
Even if he does start, it's likely he will be taken out of the game earlier than usual to ensure he is fully fit for Thursday. If the Ox gets his chance, he needs to step up and show he can be used more regularly.
O'Neill has frequently overlooked Oxlade-Chamberlain to the point of overusing McGregor, which suggests the former isn't doing enough to convince.
Liam Scales
Scales has been in good form of late, but he wasn't particularly good in the Dundee United game. He scored an own goal and made up for it with a goal of his own, but his actual defending looked clumsy.
Celtic were clumsy defensively as a collective due to over-chasing the game, and Scales could do with a really solid performance to move on from that. He could have it tough, too, against in-form striker Jacob Murrell on the other side.
Sam Johnstone
Johnstone keeps his place on this list for the second time in a week. He is being given an extended run of games to prove himself as O'Neill weighs up the number one decision.
But his distribution was a little poor again in the Dundee United game, and he also should have come out to gather the ball for the second goal. The veteran could do with a complete performance where he dominates his area and gets his distribution right, and we just haven't seen that yet.
