celtics back in action scottish premier league They welcome Livingston to Parkhead after their win over Dundee in the SFA Cup on Wednesday night.

Martin O’NeillExtra-time was needed to beat Steven Pressley’s side last weekend after Ethan Hamilton put the visitors ahead with a screamer.

Junior Adamu’s 97th-minute equalizer sent the game into overtime to keep the Hoops in contention, before Sebastian Tounekti’s goal early in extra time sealed a place in the quarter-finals.

It was a dream debut for Adamu, who arrived on loan from Freiburg on deadline day, coming off the bench to brilliantly flick the ball into the bottom corner from Tunekti’s penalty area.

The Austria international only scored one goal in the first half of the Bundesliga season, but did score 32 goals between 2020/21 and 2022/23, showing that he does have the potential to become a regular goalscorer.

How the Celtics get Junior Adamu and Tomas Kawankala on the floor at the same time

Adamu could be a strong contender for his Premier League debut against Kilmarnock after scoring against Dundee at Parkhead on Saturday.

The problem is, however, that Tomas Chiwankara has already provided goals and assists in his first two league games since joining on loan from Borussia Monchengladbach, meaning O’Neill has to find a way for the two of them to play together.

Adamu has played on the right wing nine times during his career with the club. He could replace Joel Mvuka, who played 45 minutes against Dundee, starting on the right, with Chiwankara in the centre.

This leaves Tunecti and Yang Xianjun vying for a starting spot on the left wing, with James Forrest and Mvuka providing support on the right wing.

Alternatively, O’Neal could keep Adamu as an impact backup for the time being and have him replace Kawankara so that the Hoops have a new center at the end of the game.

Number of goals scored by Celtic’s forward line in the 2025/26 season

Whether starting or coming off the bench, the Austrian attacker looks like a promising addition to the squad after his dream debut, which could be bad news for another Celtic forward.

Celtic striker must not start over

Now that Kawankara and Adamu have both stepped through the door and scored their first goals for the Scottish giants, there’s a basketball forward who shouldn’t start again this season.

Kelechi Iheanacho joined the club on a free transfer the day after deadline day last summer as the recruitment team was unable to find a striker in the Brendan Rodgers transfer window.

Unfortunately, the former Manchester City and Leicester City center forward has missed 19 games due to injury due to a hamstring problem.

The experienced striker has played just 32 minutes in 2026, including 22 against Utrecht and 10 against Falkirk, and did not feature in last weekend’s game against Dundee.

Iheanacho has shown his quality, scoring three goals in ten games in the Premier League and Europa League, but he has not played long enough to provide a stable source of goals for the team.

As well as struggling to get on the pitch, the Nigeria international has also struggled to take his chances effectively in the five Premier League appearances he has made for the club this season.

The 29-year-old striker has underperformed in the league as expected, scoring two goals in five games, which could be another reason why the Hoops have opted to bring in two forwards in the January transfer window.

Celtic could have moved on after signing Chivankara and hoped Iheanacho would stay fit and provide backup for the Czech international, but O’Neill also signed Adamu to provide more firepower.

With those two helping, and already scoring goals, Iheanacho shouldn’t start another game for the Hoops between now and the expiration of his contract in the summer.

The veteran Premier League striker’s move on a free transfer last summer was a risk worth taking, but it just didn’t work out for the club from a form and fitness perspective, which is why he should be released at the end of the season.

From now on, Chiwankara and Adamu can share the workload at center, meaning Iheanacho is no longer required to start again.

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