Predicted Celtic XI as Liel Abada absence hands new star chance and Brendan Rodgers deploys one debutant

The champions must beat Dundee to make the Rangers win mean everything reckons Brendan Rodgers.

Brendan Rodgers hasn't had the best of luck of late with Celtic injuries and the blow of losing Liel Abada has compounded the Irishman's woes.

But the post-Rangers derby afterglow will only mean something if the champion see off Dundee in the Parkhead coach's words, with some key stars beginning to make their recovery after the makeshift XI at Ibrox got the job done. Reo Hatate has offered Rodgers a massive boost with his return and minutes will be on the mind against Tony Docherty's men, with defender Cameron Carter-Vickers is a little way away from re-joining the champions' squad.

It leaves a void in attack to be filled with Kyogo and Daizen Maeda returning from international duty, and deadline day signings Luis Palma, Paulo Bernardo and Nat Phillips all vying for valuable game time before crucial games in the Champions League get underway. Record Sport took a look at how the Hoops may line up at Parkhead.

Predicted Celtic XI

Provisional Celtic squad

Goalkeepers

Joe Hart

Benjamin Siegrist

Scott Bain

Defenders

Alexandro Bernabei

Greg Taylor

Alistair Johnston

Gustaf Lagerbielke

Nat Phillips

Liam Scales

Anthony Ralston

Midfielders

Tomoki Iwata

Matt O’Riley

Callum McGregor

David Turnbull

Reo Hatate

Odin Holm

Kwon Hyeok-kyu

Paulo Bernardo

Forwards

Daizen Maeda

Luis Palma

Kyogo Furuhashi

Hyeongyu Oh

Yang Hyun-jun