Rodgers must unleash Celtic’s “rapid” 5 ft 9 Maeda upgrade over Abada

Celtic travel away from Glasgow this evening as they prepare to face off against Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership as they hope to move further clear at the top of the table.

A win for their rivals on Tuesday night has left the Hoops ahead on goal difference in the title race but three points tonight would provide some separation between the two sides, albeit they will have played one game more.

Brendan Rodgers should be looking for a strong response for his players after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Aberdeen in the top-flight last time out.

North Macedonia international Bojan Miovski’s excellent opener for the Dons was cancelled out by a strike from winger Nicolas Kuhn as both sides were forced to share the points on Saturday.

The Northern Irish head coach could now look to make some alterations to his starting line-up in the hope of an improved performance and result this evening.

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He will not, however, have left-back Greg Taylor available for selection to face Hibernian despite the left-back having returned to training this week.

The Scotland international suffered a groin injury that ruled him out of the last two league matches for the Hoops and he will not be in the squad tonight, but could feature against St. Mirren in the SFA Cup at the weekend.

It was also confirmed by the manager that none of the club’s current injured players will return o action against Hibs, which includes midfielder Reo Hatate and central defender Cameron Carter-Vickers.

23/24 Premiership

Cameron Carter-Vickers

Reo Hatate

Appearances

14

Eight

Starts

14

Four

Pass accuracy

92%

79%

Duel success rate

67%

51%

Sofascore rating

7.26

7.25

Rodgers has, though, revealed that Daizen Maeda is back from international duty with Japan and the winger will be part of the travelling party today.

The Celtic boss must, however, unleash German forward Kuhn from the start on the right flank, ahead of both Liel Abada, who started against Aberdeen, and the Japanese attacker.

Liel Abada’s struggles against Aberdeen

Rodgers selected the 22-year-old whiz from the start on Saturday and was not rewarded with an impressive performance from the right-footed gem.

It was his fifth Premiership start of the season so far and he did not do enough throughout his time on the pitch to suggest that a sixth is deserved tonight against Hibernian.

Abada played the opening 59 minutes of the match and struggled in and out of possession on the right flank with a lack of impact at the top end of the pitch and weak play off the ball.

The Hoops winger failed to create a single chance for his teammates and missed one ‘big chance’ in front of goal, which means that he offered little creativity and was wasteful with the opportunities that were created for him.

Aberdeen’s players also came out on top in four of their five battles on the ground with Abada, who completed just one of his four attempted dribbles.

These statistics do not suggest that the attacker deserves another chance to impress against Hibs, particularly after Kuhn’s impressive cameo off the bench.

Why Rodgers must unleash Kuhn against Hibernian

Celtic swooped to sign the former Ajax and Bayern Munich prospect from Rapid Wien during the January transfer window and he has not taken long to settle into life in Glasgow.

The 24-year-old wizard is yet to start a Premiership match for the Hoops but has already scored his first goal in the division, with the equalising strike against the Dons.

Nicolas Kuhn

Vs Aberdeen (via Sofascore)

Minutes played

31

Shots

One

Goals

One

Key passes

One

Dribbles completed

Two

As you can see in the table above, the German talent made a bigger impact on the game than Abada, despite playing almost half as many minutes.

His low, deflected, drive made it 1-1, with an assist from Adam Idah, who FFC have also urged Rodgers to select from the start, and the talented gem created more chances (one) for his teammates than the Israel international (zero).

Kuhn’s form for Rapid Wien during the first half of the season also suggests that there is far more to come from him as a creator for his fellow attackers.

The 5 foot 9 magician, who was lauded as “absolutely rapid” by UEFA licensed coach @Inverthewing on X, racked up 11 ‘big chances’ created and 1.8 key passes per game across 16 Bundesliga appearances in Austria.

This indicates that Celtic supporters can expect the winger to provide the likes of Idah, Luis Palma, and Matt O’Riley with quality chances to score, to go along with his goal threat, which was on display with his finish against the Dons on Saturday.

Daizen Maeda’s form this season

Kuhn could be a big upgrade on current Hoops winger Maeda as the Japan international does not offer a greater threat at the top end of the pitch.

Across the Bundesliga and Premiership, the German whiz has racked up three goals, five assists, and 11 ‘big chances’ created in 18 appearances and 16 starts.

Maeda, on the other hand, has contributed with three goals, two assists, and four ‘big chances’ created in 17 Premiership matches, which has included 15 starts.

This means that Kuhn has produced seven more goals and big chances created combined during the 2023/24 campaign, despite only having played and started one more game.

The 26-year-old Hoops attacker has also only provided 0.5 key passes and completed 1.2 dribbles per game respectively in the Scottish top-flight this season. Whereas, the former Rapid Wien star managed 1.8 key passes and 3.1 dribbles per match in the Bundesliga during the first half of the campaign.

These statistics suggest that the January addition has the potential to be a big upgrade on the Japanese winger, due to his fantastic ability to split open opposition defences at an impressive rate to create chances for others, if he can hit his top form over the coming weeks and months.

Therefore, Kuhn should be unleashed from the start on the right flank over both Maeda and Abada, and the forward is in FFC’s predicted Celtic XI for tonight’s clash.