Celtic head into a game this weekend, for possibly the first time, without any stress or pressure as they prepare to take on St Mirren at Parkhead this afternoon.
The Hoops secured the Scottish Premiership title with a sublime 5-0 success over Kilmarnock away from Glasgow last time out, which means that there is nothing riding on the clash today.
This means that Brendan Rodgers and his team can go out and enjoy the team before their preparation for the SFA Cup final with Rangers at Hampden Park later this month.
The Northern Irish boss, therefore, has a chance to make changes to his team to offer squad players an opportunity to get some minutes on the pitch.
With this in mind, Rodgers must finally unleash Luis Palma from the start over Daizen Maeda on the left flank against St Mirren today.
Daizen Maeda's performance against Kilmarnock
The Japan international produced a fantastic performance against Kilmarnock last time out in the Premiership, as the Hoops sealed the league title in emphatic fashion.
Maeda scored from close range, from Alistair Johnston's superb ball across the box, and then slide the ball over for James Forrest to score during the first half.
Minutes played
62
Sofascore rating
8.4
Goals
1
Assists
1
Key passes
2
As you can see in the table above, the right-footed winger enjoyed an excellent evening on Wednesday night as he chipped in with a goal and an assist in the 5-0 win.
Rodgers must now drop him to the bench for this clash with St Mirren, though, in order to provide Palma with a chance to showcase his quality.
The league has already been won and Maeda could be given a rest, at least from the start, to keep him fresh for the SFA Cup final next week.
Why Luis Palma should start for Celtic
The Honduras international has only started four league games since the turn of the year and his last start for the club in the division came against Kilmarnock in February.
With the title already won, Rodgers has the freedom to bring him back into the XI in the hope that he can rediscover the form he showed during the first half of the campaign for Celtic.
The 24-year-old star, who former Hoops man Peter Grant lauded as a "real threat", had enjoyed a terrific first half of the season in the Premiership.
In 13 league starts – 16 appearances in total – for the club in 2023, Palma had contributed with an eye-catching five goals and nine assists – more than one goal contribution per start on average.
The 5 foot 10 wizard has created 13 'big chances' in 17 Premiership starts overall this season for Celtic, which speaks to the creative quality he has the potential to provide.
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His one goal and zero assists in the league in 2024 is a poor return, however, and Rodgers could now give him a chance to bounce back to form with a start in a pressureless game against St Mirren, which would then allow Maeda to have a breather on the bench.