Celtic enjoyed a mostly successful night at Parkhead as they beat Sturm Graz 2-1 to secure their first win of the league phase of the Europa League on Thursday night.
Goals from Liam Scales and Benjamin Nygren turned the game around after the Hoops found themselves 1-0 down to a wondergoal in the first half.
There were also some negatives to take away from the game, though, unfortunately, as Kelechi Iheanacho and Alistair Johnston both came off with injuries in the opening 45 minutes.
Speaking after the match, Brendan Rodgers provided an update on both players: “The first two doesn’t look great, it looks like hamstring. But okay, that’s what happens.”
Iheanacho came off with that hamstring injury in the opening four minutes of the game, which is a concern, and it remains to be seen exactly how long the Nigeria international will be out of action for.
Johnny Kenny was brought off the bench to replace the former Manchester City striker for the remainder of the game, but it is now down to Rodgers to decide whether he sticks with him for Sunday’s huge game.
Why Johnny Kenny may not start against Hearts
The Celtic head coach may take a cautious approach with this match because they are away from home against the team that are currently five points ahead of them in the Scottish Premiership table.
This means that Rodgers may not want to put his full trust in the inexperience of Kenny to lead the line for the Hoops in such a crucial match in the league season, despite a promising performance off the bench against Sturm Graz.
|
Vs Sturm Graz |
Johnny Kenny |
|---|---|
|
Minutes |
86 |
|
xG |
0.98 |
|
Shots |
6 |
|
Goals |
0 |
|
Dribbles completed |
2/4 |
|
Pass accuracy |
40% |
|
Duels won |
9/15 |
|
Possession lost |
13x |
As you can see in the table above, the Irishman got into plenty of positions to have shots at goal, taking six in total, but he gave the ball away a bit too much and failed to take the chances that came his way.
On top of some of those performance-related concerns, there may also be a concern over his lack of experience. Kenny has started one Premiership game for Celtic in 2025, per Sofascore, and scored his first league goal for the club against Aberdeen in May.
The 22-year-old centre-forward has not started a game in the Premiership for the Scottish giants so far this season, coming off the bench four times, but did score a goal in the 3-0 win over Livingston in August.
This means that Kenny may not be viewed as the best option to be given the nod as the starting centre-forward against Hearts, because he is inexperienced and raw as a young striker.
Rodgers may, instead, turn to another player to fill that position to replace the injured Iheanacho, by unleashing one of his players in a new role in his Celtic career.
Benjamin Nygren has played all of his appearances for the Scottish giants so far this season as either a central midfielder or a right winger, per Transfermarkt, and he played off the right against Sturm Graz.
However, the Sweden international has played 39 times as a centre-forward in his career, per Transfermarkt, which shows that he is capable of operating as a central striker.
Why Celtic should start Benjamin Nygren as a striker
With Iheanacho out injured and Kenny lacking in experience and goals for the Hoops, playing Nygren as a centre-forward could make sense for this clash with Hearts.
The 24-year-old star has already played over 1,000 minutes and contributed with five goals and four assists in 15 appearances for Celtic this season, per Transfermarkt, which shows that he is a dependable squad member for the manager.
Rodgers clearly trusts him to deliver on the pitch, hence his minutes on the pitch, and that is why the head coach may want to unleash him in a new role, in terms of the current campaign, as a striker against Hearts.
Nygren, above all else, is a player who has proven that he can consistently get into goalscoring positions and score goals to win his team matches, which is a valuable trait to have.
The left-footed star missed four ‘big chances’ in the win over Sturm Graz, but his misses did not deter him from going on to score the winning goal with an excellent close-range header from Arne Engels’ corner.
Nygren, who has scored four goals in eight appearances in the Premiership for Celtic, is no stranger to the centre-forward position, or to finding the back of the net. In fact, speaking on TNT’s coverage of the win on Thursday, former Hoops boss Neil Lennon described him as a constant “threat” in front of goal.
|
Benjamin Nygren’s positional flexibility |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Position |
Appearances |
Goals + assists |
|
Right winger |
77 |
27 + 13 |
|
Centre-forward |
39 |
16 + 3 |
|
Central midfield |
20 |
5 + 4 |
|
Left winger |
15 |
6 + 1 |
|
Attacking midfield |
8 |
2 + 0 |
|
Right midfield |
7 |
1 + 1 |
|
Left midfield |
3 |
0 + 0 |
As you can see in the table above, centre-forward is his second-most featured position in his club career to date, only bettered by right wing, which shows that he is more than comfortable in that role.
His return of 16 goals in 39 appearances as a striker also suggests that he can carry his goalscoring qualities over to playing in that position, rather than only providing a goal threat from a central midfield or right wing position.
Therefore, it could make a lot of sense to unleash Nygren as a centre-forward against Hearts because the left-footed ace is experienced, has proven he can score goals for Celtic, and has played as a number nine for previous clubs.
This would allow Rodgers to keep the inexperienced Kenny on the bench as an option to bring on when needed to add some energy, possibly in the second half.
