Celtic are edging closer to a sixth treble in just nine seasons.
With only nine Premiership fixtures still to play, Brendan Rodgers’ side are a whopping 16 points clear at the top, looking to increase that gap even further when Rangers visit Glasgow’s East End a week on Sunday.
Before then, this Sunday, the Hoops will welcome Hibernian to Parkhead in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.
Hibs are currently unbeaten in 13 top-flight fixtures, their longest such streak in a single season since 1949/50, a sequence that features a 2-1 win over Celtic at Easter Road a fortnight ago, hence why David Gray’s side, who will be backed by 7,000 supporters, will fancy their chances of an upset.
So, as Rodgers, who’s won all 19 Scottish Cup ties he’s overseen as a manager, seeks to lead his team to Hampden yet again, he should unleash an “on fire” Celtic star in Sunday’s huge tie ahead of January arrival, Jota.
Why Jota has underwhelmed since returning to Celtic
Fair to say, Jota is yet to catch fire since returning to the club in January.
The Portuguese winger rejoined from Stade Rennais for a reported fee of £8m earlier this year too much excitement, both from himself and the entire fanbase.
So far, he’s scored three goals in nine appearances for the Hoops, marking his second debut with a goal at Motherwell, before finding the net during emphatic home victories over both Dundee and Aberdeen.
Speaking prior to the first leg against Bayern Munich, Rodgers revealed to TNT Sports that while the winger is “a top, top player”, he’s not quite reached peak fitness levels. “You need to be physical in these games and the front three are in a good place,” the boss noted.
He didn’t start again in the 5-2 win over St Mirren and with Jota yet to, as Sourav Mahanty of Sports Illustrated puts it, ‘rediscover his form’, Rodgers should reward another wide-attacking option with a start, following his exceptional recent scoring spree?
Celtic's in-form attacker must start over Jota
Yang Hyun-Jun is, without a shadow of a doubt, in the best form of his Celtic career right now.
The South Korean came off the bench Saturday night, but unlike Jota, he made a huge impact, scoring twice at St Mirren. He headed home the Hoops’ crucial go-ahead goal, before tucking home a fifth, also a back-post header, late on.
This took Yang’s tally to five goals for the season, previously on target against Aberdeen last Tuesday, with all of these goals coming since 14 January.
The 22-year-old winger joined Celtic for £2m from K League side Gangwon FC in the summer of 2023, but made very little impact during his first 18 months in Glasgow, scoring only one goal, while 34 of his 57 appearances to date have come as a substitute.
Up until very recently, his Celtic career looked set to go the same way as compatriot Oh Hyeon-gyu who, despite scoring 12 goals for the club, saw his opportunities dwindle, leading to him forcing through a move to Gent.
Now though, as Korean journalist Joel Kim puts it, Yang is “on fire”, while Rodgers described him as a young player who is “growing and developing”, crediting Yang’s girlfriend for the winger’s recent form, given that she’s been in the country for “a little while”, with the manager jokingly saying he’ll do everything in his power to make sure she can stay in Scotland.
So, let’s see how his recent form compares to that of Jota.
Appearances
26
9
Minutes
1,026
389
Goals
5
3
Minutes per goal
205
130
Assists
6
1
Big chances created
4
3
Successful dribbles %
44.35%
48.35%
Average Sofascore Rating
6.91
7.09
Of course, considering how few minutes Jota has played since returning, the Portuguese winger only offers a very small sample size, part of the reason why he’s outperforming Yang in a few metrics.
Nevertheless, as Josh McCafferty of the Glasgow Times notes, Yang is the man in form, hence why he certainly deserves to start Sunday’s huge cup tie against in-form Hibernian.
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