Striking Form At The Right Time

It seems Furuhashi is back in contention and near to full fitness if not match sharpness.

In all matches, Maeda has 0.52 goals per 90m and Giakoumakis 0.85. Both are close to their respective xG and both scored in the recent win over Ross County.

Based on fitness alone, I would be surprised if Furuhashi walks straight back into the side.

My Ange-senses tells me he will go with the same starting XI as saw off the Staggies, injury permitting. A fit and raring to go Furuhashi on the bench would be quite the fillip.

How do the Celtic strikers stack up in the current SPFL season?

Here is a plotting of all strikers this season with >650 minutes and at least 0.3 in either goals or xG per 90m:

Simms at Hearts, on loan from Everton, is one to keep an eye on, as an fyi.

We can see, of those playing regularly, Furuhashi was well ahead of the other strikers and remains there despite injury.

Giakoumakis is managing over 1 goal per 90m at SPFL level, and is till under xG for those league games.

Maeda, despite regular left-wing duties, is already matching Morelos for output and xG in league play.

Roofe is the highest productivity striker at Ibrox, but if Morelos is fit it seems unlikely he will start – he has only started one match in 2022 (at Celtic Park) and has only 197 minutes in the calendar year.

Even without their premium striker, or at least with the promise of a 20 minute burst at best, Celtic appear to have the edge in striking power going into the next Derby, in terms of form and availability.