Celtic head into Wednesday night's clash with Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership knowing that even a point would be enough to secure the title.
The Hoops are currently six points clear of their closest rivals in second place and would need to go through a stunning collapse to throw the division away from this point.
They now travel away from Parkhead to take on Kilmarnock in their penultimate league fixture of the season, and will hope to celebrate the title in style with an emphatic win.
Brendan Rodgers' side come into this match off the back of a 2-1 win over Rangers in the Old Firm clash at Paradise on Saturday, thanks to a strike from Matt O'Riley and an own goal from John Lundstram in the first half.
The Northern Irish head coach could, however, look to make some alterations to his starting XI, and Reo Hatate is one player who could be dropped out of the lineup.
Why Reo Hatate should be dropped to the bench
The Japan international was selected to start in the middle of the park, alongside Matt O'Riley and Callum McGregor, and endured a difficult afternoon at Parkhead.
Hatate was on the winning side in midfield but his performance left a lot to be desired as he struggled in and out of possession throughout the match.
On the ball, the central midfielder created one chance, which was not a 'big chance', for his teammates, failed in both of his attempted crosses, and failed with his only attempted dribble. He also lost possession 13 times in total – more than both O'Riley (12) and McGregor (six) – in 80 minutes on the pitch.
The right-footed lightweight also lost four of his six duels and did not make a single tackle against Rangers, which shows that opposition players dominated him in the physical battle.
His underwhelming showing in the Old Firm clash on Saturday came off the back of another below-par display against Hearts at Parkhead in the previous league match.
Hatate did assist the opening goal from Kyogo Furuhashi, with a hooked cross into the middle of the box for the striker to score with a header, but the rest of his game was concerning.
Minutes played
71
Pass accuracy
71%
Accurate crosses
1/7
Accurate long balls
1/6
Possession lost
25x
Duels won
0/6
As you can see in the table, the Japanese dud was completely dominated in physical duels against the Jam Tarts players as he lost all six of his contests.
The 26-year-old midfielder also lost the ball a staggering 25 times, taking his total to 38 times over the last two matches, and only completed 71% of his attempted passes.
These statistics show that Hatate has been off the pace in the last two games for Celtic, as he has lost possession 38 times and lost ten of his 12 duels against Hearts and Rangers combined.
This is why Rodgers must brutally drop him to the bench and now finally unleash Portuguese starlet Paulo Bernardo from the start against Kilmarnock.
Why Paulo Bernardo should be unleashed
The Benfica loanee has not started a match for Celtic since the 3-1 win over St Johnstone on the 16th of March and must finally be unleashed in the XI ahead of Hatate on Wednesday night.
His last four appearances in the Premiership have come as a substitute and the talented youngster has still managed to produce one goal and one assist in that time.
Bernardo produced a crisp finish into the bottom corner against Livingston at the end of March and followed that up with a progressive pass into the feet of Adam Idah, who then worked room to find the back of the net in the 3-3 draw with Rangers at Ibrox.
The 22-year-old maestro has shown glimpses of quality throughout the 2023/24 campaign, since his move to Scotland on loan from Benfica, and he could offer more than Hatate in and out of possession.
Celtic's Japanese gem lost 83% of his duels and lost possession 19 times per game on average across his last two appearances, whilst Bernardo's form in the Premiership indicates that he could be an upgrade in the middle of the park.
Appearances
20
Starts
11
Goals
3
Assists
3
Ground duel success rate
50%
Possession lost per game
6.1
As you can see in the table above, the Portuguese whiz has the quality to provide goals and assists – with more than one contribution every other start on average – and can hold his own in physical battles, whilst also retaining possession well.
Bernardo, who was once hailed as "gifted" and a "baller" by U23 scout Antonio Mango, should now replace Hatate in the starting XI against Kilmarnock to improve Celtic's use of the ball in midfield, and how they cope in duels against opposition players.
The alternatives to Paulo Bernardo
If Rodgers wants to drop Hatate and look at options beyond Bernardo, Tomoki Iwata and Odin Thiago Holm are two other midfielders who could step up.
Holm appears to be the least likely candidate to feature against Kilmarnock as the 21-year-old starlet has only made nine appearances in the Premiership this season and his last outing was against St Johnstone in March.
The Norway U21 international has only played one league match for the club in 2024 and appears to be one for the future, at the age of 21, rather than a player who is going to make an immediate impact on the pitch.
Iwata, on the other hand, has been a regular member of the squad and has made 19 appearances in the Premiership, starting nine of those games.
The Japanese star, however, is more defensive-minded, with just one goal and one assist in his 19 outings, and the Hoops should look to go with a front-footed option to replace Hatate, should he be dropped.
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Celtic should be wanting to secure a win to seal the title in style and Bernardo, given his three goals and three assists in 11 starts, could provide an attacking threat from midfield, which is why Rodgers must finally unleash him from the start.