Celtic take on Livingston at home in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals, as they look to book their place in Hampden Park for the first time this campaign.

After easily dispatching St Mirren in the last round, Brendan Rodgers and his side will be hoping to dispatch of Livingston in the same manner. Indeed, Celtic won 2-0 away from home in the fifth round, thanks to goals from Kyogo and Daizen Maeda, despite a spirited performance from the home side.

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The visitors to Celtic Park on Sunday may look at this game as one without much-applied pressure, thanks to the situation they find themselves in domestically. Bottom of the Scottish Premiership, David Martindale’s side are six points adrift from their nearest competitor Ross County, with the Lions playing a game more than their opponents. They have had better fortunes in the Scottish Cup, dispatching Championship duo Raith Rovers and Partick Thistle in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively, by single-digit margins.

Rodgers has decisions to make, as a place at the national stadium lies in wait for the victor on Sunday afternoon. With that being said, who will he elect to start for this must-win tie? The Celtic Way’s Ryan McGinlay and Tony Haggerty each have their say…

Ryan McGinlay

It's unthinkable that Celtic could go a full season without visiting the national stadium. Still, it is very much a possibility, especially with the up-and-down nature of this campaign.

After last week’s disappointment against Hearts in the capital, Celtic NEED to get back to winning ways. What better way to do so than in a straight knockout against Livingston at home? It is quite simple, a league and cup double is the minimum requirement for Rodgers and his team, or they will face the wrath of a very unhappy support, one that enjoyed an incredible treble just under a year ago.

To do the cup element of that, they have to beat three teams, including Martindale’s side this weekend. Because of this, Rodgers will name a strong squad to take on the Premiership’s bottom team, regardless of the opposition. In goals, Joe Hart will continue to play, as he looks to add another two trophies to his glittering cabinet before he hangs up his gloves at the end of the season. In defence, it will be the strongest line-up possible at present, with Cameron Carter-Vickers assuming his position as stand-in captain in place of the injured Callum McGregor, who looks to be out for at least a few weeks. Liam Scales will play alongside him, though he will be hoping for a better performance than last time out. As usual, when fit, Greg Taylor and Alistair Johnston will occupy their spots at left and right-back respectively. Continuity is going to be key between now and the end of the season, so this line-up should stay as unchanged as possible from here on in.

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McGregor’s absence has thrown a spanner in the works when picking the midfield. As he was always a bona fide starter – regardless of form – his injury has left the door open for someone to take his place. Despite his poor performance in the capital, Tomoki Iwata will continue to occupy the number six role for Celtic. One bad game does not make you a bad player, and the Japan midfielder will be hoping to kick on from Sunday’s disappointments, both individually and collectively. I’m going to throw a curveball and say that Daniel Kelly will make his first start for the club over the likes of Odin Thiago Holm and Paulo Bernardo. Trusted to come on last Sunday, Kelly looks primed to make a sustained impact on this team from here on in. He will support Matt O’Riley, who will play as the furthest forward midfielder for Rodgers’ side on Sunday.

In the attacking areas, Adam Idah will continue to lead the line in place of Kyogo Furuhashi. A tough call, but I reckon the manager will elect to stick with the Irishman, despite his goalless appearance against Hearts last time out. Daizen Maeda and Nicolas Kuhn will play on the left and right wings respectively. Kuhn is horribly out of form, so this could be a perfect game to loosen the shackles and get him back firing again. Yang Hyun-jun will be a big miss on the right, but it is high time that Kuhn shows why Celtic forked out £3 million for his services. We know what Maeda can do, so let’s see it more consistently, and with better end product.

Despite the rollercoaster that this season continues to be, I expect Celtic to book their place at Hampden with relative ease on Sunday afternoon. A comfortable win for Rodgers and his side.

Ryan’s team: Hart; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; Iwata, Kelly, O’Riley; Kuhn, Idah, Maeda

Tony Haggerty

Celtic will aim to keep their League and Scottish Cup double ambitions on track with this quarter-final clash at Celtic Park.

The siege mentality has well and truly kicked in. Brendan Rodgers's side knows exactly what they have to do and what's at stake if they are to achieve their stated aims and claim both pieces of silverware in May. There is still a bitter aftertaste from the 2-0 Premiership loss to Hearts at Tynecastle last weekend. Celtic can't afford to let the injustices linger in the system and it is probably a good thing that the club can focus on the cup and recalibrate to an extent.

Rodgers might be forced into making some changes for the visit of David Martindale's Lions but the hosts should have enough in reserve to book themselves a return trip to Hampden for the semi-final. Hart will be in goal and it will be the same back four from Edinburgh last weekend with Johnston on the right, Taylor on the left and Carter-Vickers and Scales as the central defensive pairing.

The midfield is the area that may well be causing the manager the biggest headaches but I reckon he may well go with a four in the engine room in the absence of skipper McGregor. Rodgers may well opt for Iwata and O'Riley but this could well be the game to throw in the youths and Holm and Kelly will also feature. This would be Kelly's first start in a Celtic shirt and after bagging his first career goal for the club.

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Kelly has earned the right to start his first game for his boyhood heroes as he scored a wonder goal against the Dark Blues and did not look out of place in Edinburgh despite the task being a forlorn one when he took to the field. There is nothing better though than Celtic seeing an academy prospect make the grade and Kelly is a future star in the making. The manager has praised the player's desire, application and attitude to the hilt and spoken about him in glowing terms so I believe this is the time for Rodgers to show the ultimate faith in his young prodigy by rewarding him and naming him in his Scottish Cup starting XI.

In attack, I can see Kyogo Furuhashi once again occupying a No.10 role and playing slightly behind Idah. The on-loan Norwich City striker has to put last week's costly miss from 12 yards firmly behind him. He also has to immediately get back on the horse and step up to the penalty mark once again if Celtic are afforded the luxury of being awarded another spot-kick. Kyogo playing in behind the Republic of Ireland striker worked to an extent at Tynecastle after Yang's sending off but for all of Celtic's neat passages of play in the capital, they never got in where it hurts in the final third.

There still appears to be a crisis of confidence among the wide players with Palma, Maeda or Kuhn not exactly setting the heather alight. Sadly in-form wide man Yang misses out through suspension, so the width may have to come from the full-back positions. It might be a slog and a grind because Livingston is just one of those teams that are unattractive to the eye and make football matches tough to watch. That's entirely their prerogative, of course. They are not coming to G40 to entertain, are they?

Rodgers' men will triumph though and book a last-four berth. Celtic to win by two clear goals.

Tony's team: Hart; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; Iwata, O'Riley, Holm, Kelly; Kyogo; Idah.