There is a genuine chance that Celtic end the 2025/26 campaign without a single trophy to show for their efforts for the first time since the 2020/21 season.
The Hoops are five points behind Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts and already lost the League Cup final to St Mirren in the first half of the campaign.
Now, Martin O’Neill‘s side face off against Glasgow rivals Rangers in the quarter-finals of the SFA Cup at Ibrox on Sunday, and a loss would mean that they have to beat Hearts to the league to avoid going trophyless.
It has been less than a week since Celtic and Rangers last played each other at Ibrox in the Premiership, as they faced off in a 2-2 draw last Sunday.
The Hoops came from 2-0 down to secure a point away from home against Danny Rohl’s team, and there will have been lessons learned from that match.
What Celtic learned from the 2-2 draw with Rangers
The biggest thing that O’Neill and his staff learned from the 2-2 draw at Ibrox last weekend is that they need to set the team up to bring intensity to their play from the first minute.
Celtic sat off Rangers too much in the opening 45 minutes and that allowed the hosts to dictate the game and create chances for Youssef Chermiti to score two goals, without Jack Butland really being tested at the other end.
Sebastian Tounekti and Reo Hatate came on at the break to add more energy, intensity, and quality to the team’s play, which meant that they pushed the Gers back in their own half and dominated the match.
That allowed them to create enough chances for Kieran Tierney to pull one back before they got a penalty in stoppage time and Hatate scored at the third time of asking.
O’Neill, therefore, must set his team out to bring intensity from the first whistle on Sunday, which is why he should make a few changes to the starting line-up from the last game.
Celtic beat Aberdeen 2-1 at Pittodrie on Wednesday night in the Premiership, moving above Rangers in the league, but some of their players did not deliver quality performances.
The Celtic star who must not start against Rangers
For example, there is one Hoops attacker who should be nowhere near the starting line-up at Ibrox on Sunday after his recent displays for the Scottish giants.
In the 2-1 win over Aberdeen earlier this week, Hyun-jun Yang – who nearly joined Birmingham City on a £3m deal last summer – started on the right wing for Celtic and failed to make a positive impression with his performance.
The South Korea international had no shots, no dribbles, no successful crosses, and failed to create any chances for his teammates in 65 minutes on the pitch, whilst losing possession 14 times.
James Forrest came on to replace Yang with 25 minutes to play and set up the winning goal from Benjamin Nygren with an excellent ball across the box.
O’Neill must, therefore, drop the South Korean forward from the starting line-up to unleash Forrest, who can bring energy and a willingness to put plenty of crosses into the box to put Rangers on the backfoot, which is the strategy that Celtic should adopt after the 2-2 draw last week.
It is not just Yang’s performance against Aberdeen that should see him nowhere near the starting line-up for this game, though, because he has gone nine games without a goal or an assist in all competitions.
|
Yang’s declining form |
||
|---|---|---|
|
25/26 Premiership |
Dec 21st – Jan 25th |
1st Feb – present |
|
Appearances |
6 |
5 |
|
Goals |
4 |
0 |
|
Big chances created |
1 |
0 |
|
Assists |
0 |
0 |
After a run of four goals in six league games over the winter period, the 23-year-old attacker has not scored or assisted a goal in his last five league matches. In fact, he has not registered a single assist in 22 league games this season.
Forrest’s assist against Aberdeen on Wednesday night is a feat that Yang has not achieved in any competition across 34 appearances in the 2025/26 campaign, which is an underwhelming statistic for a winger.
The former Gangwon star has not done enough at the top end of the pitch of late to suggest that he will bring the intensity or the quality that Celtic need to progress through to the last four of the SFA Cup this weekend.
That is why O’Neill must drop the forward from the starting line-up after the clash with Aberdeen to bring Forrest into the team on the right wing for this trip to Ibrox.
The Gers boss has held recruitment meetings with Ibrox chiefs.