Reason why James Forrest has to start for Celtic F.C vs Hearts match clash

Tomorrow afternoon, Celtic plays Heart of Midlothian in a very important game for the Scottish Premiership title race.

Steven Naismith’s team gets on the M8 knowing that a win would lock up third place in the table and guarantee them a spot in the European group stage in 2024–25.

Also, Celtic knows there isn’t much room for error at Parkhead because they have the chance to get six points ahead of Rangers and put pressure on their rivals, who play Kilmarnock on Sunday at Ibrox.

Brendan Rodgers is looking forward to a loud crowd at Celtic Park after our 2-1 win over Dundee last weekend: “I am really excited about next week against Hearts at Celtic Park.” 60,000 people, the pitch will be great, and the atmosphere will be great. Hopefully, we can play a level of football and get another great win.

Daizen Maeda might be able to go back to starting if he fully heals from his hamstring injury. We’ll know more at Rodgers’ press conference later today.

In other selection-related news, veteran player James Forrest has made a strong case to start the next two games after scoring two great goals at Dens Park last Sunday.

John Hartson says that Celtic must start James Forrest.
Forrest scored two goals on Tayside, giving him six goals and one assist in 24 games this season. According to Transfermarkt, his ability to provide an out ball on the left constantly caused problems for Tony Docherty’s defense.

The Scotland international has gone from being on the outside to being a key player in our title bid. John Hartson, a former Celtic striker, is sure that he should play against Hearts tomorrow because of his recent performance.

He told [Go Radio Football Show]: “He’s getting in great shape.” A few times this season, he’s really helped when he came off the bench.

“using his experience, getting the ball off his feet, and using his speed—he has a quick turn of speed—getting it into the box low or high so someone can score.”

“His goal against Dundee was great, really great. It broke the tie, with a little help from Kyogo, and he had the brains to hit it first time and hit a wonderful volley, like a scissor-kick volley right into the bottom corner. It was a brilliant goal.”

“There’s no doubt that James Forrest will play again this weekend if he makes it through this week.”

Celtic needs a cool head at this point in the season, and Forrest is widely seen as the best person to do that job, having been a part of 22 major wins at Parkhead.

Also, Rodgers has stuck with players who have been playing well from week to week. The 32-year-old should feel good about his chances of starting tomorrow when the team lines up.