Not Nygren: Rodgers must bench Celtic flop to hand new signing a debut
da brwin： Celtic are back in action in the Scottish Premiership for the first time since the first international break of the campaign as they travel away from Glasgow to take on Kilmarnock.
da 888： Brendan Rodgers will want to see more from his side from an attacking perspective after the disappointing 0-0 draw away against Rangers last time out before the break.
The attacking set-up did not click at Ibrox, as they failed to create any ‘big chances’, and the Northern Irish head coach must look to make some changes to his starting line-up.
The Celtic player Rodgers should drop against Kilmarnock
Benjamin Nygren was deployed on the right wing against Rangers, despite thriving in a central midfield role for most of the season so far, and failed to shine with zero chances created and one out of six dribbles completed, per Sofascore.
The Sweden international, who scored three goals in the first three Premiership games, also lost possession a whopping 24 times, but it is Arne Engels who should be dropped instead of him.
Celtic’s £11m record signing played in Nygren’s best role, on the right of the midfield three, and did not do enough to suggest that he should keep his place in the starting XI, as the Belgian lightweight lost eight of his ten duels and failed to create any ‘big chances’ for the team.
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Per Sofascore, the £16k-per-week flop did not register any shots, successful dribbles, tackles, or interceptions in his 65 minutes on the pitch, which further illustrates how poorly he performed in the middle of the park.
Rodgers must ruthlessly ditch Engels from the starting XI, move Nygren into central midfield, and bring Sebastian Tounekti in for his debut for the club.
Why Sebastian Tounekti should start for Celtic
The Hoops swooped to sign the Tunisia international from Hammarby on deadline day last week to bolster their options in the wide positions. He is a versatile forward who can play on the left or the right flank.
With Michel-Ange Balikwisha now in the building and starting on the left wing, Rodgers should deploy the former Allsvenskan star on the right wing against Kilmarnock this afternoon.
Celtic’s right wingers, James Forrest and Hyun-jun Yang, have combined for zero goals and zero assists in the first four matches of the Premiership campaign, which shows that the Hoops have not had much in the way of quality in that position so far.
Tounekti’s form for Hammarby across 21 appearances in the Allsvenskan in the 2025 campaign, though, suggests that he has the potential to change that by coming into the starting line-up.
2025 Allsvenskan
Sebastian Tounekti
Percentile rank vs wingers
Shots on target
12
Top 19%
Goals
3
Top 25%
Successful dribbles
41
Top 3%
Chances created
22
Top 18%
xA
4.62
Top 3%
Assists
5
Top 9%
Stats via FotMob
As you can see in the table above, the Tunisian maestro is a winger who excels at creating high-quality chances for his teammates, breaking down opposition defences with crosses and passes.
Celtic did not create a single ‘big chance’ in the 0-0 draw with Rangers in the Premiership last time out, which is why they need to change their team to bring more creativity into the XI for this clash with Kilmarnock.
They have signed Tounekti to offer more quality in the wide areas than they have got from their other options in that area of the pitch, which is why he should be thrown straight into the starting line-up for this clash.
His form in Sweden this year suggests that he has a good chance of hitting the ground running and creating high-quality chances for the likes of Daizen Maeda and Balikwisha to open their accounts in the league this season.