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Celtic face heading to Motherwell this afternoon without their number one goalkeeper, Joe Hart.
The veteran goalkeeper was sent off in the 3-0 win over Livingston last weekend and will be suspended for today’s crucial SPFL fixture.
So that leads to one question. Who will start in goal for Brendan Rodgers this afternoon?
Will Scott Bain or Ben Siegrist start for Celtic today?
For me, I think it will be Bain. Widely regarded as Celtic’s third-choice keeper, Bain has been preferred for the goalkeeping role of late.
Used by Ange Postecoglou in the 4-2 loss to Hibernian at Easter Road towards the end of last season, Bain’s performance was less than convincing against the Edinburgh side.
And last weekend, he was preferred for the match-day squad and took over from Hart after the 36-year-old’s dismissal.
It’s fair to say Bain looked very rusty and again didn’t fill the Celtic support with confidence after a couple of unforced errors.
If Bain starts, where does that leave Siegrist’s Celtic future?
Not looking good, in my opinion. TBR Celtic wrote in the transfer window that Siegrist wanted to leave Celtic but was told he had to stay at the club.
After being left out of Celtic’s Champions League squad, the Swiss keeper fell further down the pecking order and as I wrote at the time, that wasn’t a good sign for his Celtic career prospects.
However, he could have an opportunity to show what he can do this weekend in Hart’s absence. But only if he is selected to start.
If he isn’t, then the signs don’t look for Siegrist and he may well be moved on by the club. Especially with Celtic rumoured to be looking at Liverpool ‘keeper, Caoimhin Kelleher.
I feel for Siegrist. His injury last season kept him out for almost the whole year so he has never really had the chance to show what he can do and you can’t deny he is a very good ‘keeper.
Saturday will be telling for the 31-year-old. If selected then there is hope that he can carve out a Celtic career. If not, then his future doesn’t look good.
In other news, ‘Magnificent’: Peter Grant has been blown away with what he’s seen from £1.5m Celtic player this season