Celtic have found themselves in a real race to land the Scottish Premiership this season as they battle their closest rivals to secure the trophy.
The Hoops are currently second in the table and two points behind Philippe Clement's Rangers ahead of tonight's round of fixtures in the top-flight.
Brendan Rodgers' side have drawn two of their last four matches in the league, which has resulted in their drop down to second place, and the Northern Irish head coach will be hoping to avoid any more dropped points this evening.
The Bhoys host Dundee at Parkhead and come into this match off the back of an unconvincing 3-1 win against Motherwell at Fir Park on Sunday.
They were 1-0 down at half-time and needed two goals in stoppage time to secure all three points, as substitute Adam Idah made a huge impact off the bench.
Rodgers must now brutally ditch Kyogo Furuhashi from the starting XI in order to make room for the Ireland international to be unleashed from the start.
Kyogo Furuhashi's performance against Motherwell
The Japan international endured a rough 45 minutes of action at Fir Park before being hauled off at the break to be replaced by the deadline day loan signing from Norwich City.
After the match, Rodgers confirmed that the half-time substitution was a tactical one, although he also added that the former Vissel Kobe star did have a knock on his shoulder, as Kyogo was not providing the focal point of the attack that was needed.
The statistics back up that assessment from the Northern Irish boss as the 29-year-old lightweight only won one duel against an opposition player in those 45 minutes.
Staggeringly, the Japanese forward also failed to complete a single pass to his teammates as all three of his attempted passes went astray.
He ended the half with a 0% pass accuracy, 0% dribble success rate, and one 'big chance' missed for the Hoops, which illustrates how poor the attacker's performance was against Motherwell.
Adam Idah's impact against Motherwell
After Kyogo's disappointing half of football, Idah came on to save the day with a superb performance and impact during the second half of the game.
The Irish marksman, whose display was hailed as "sensational" by Chris Sutton, did not take long to make his presence felt as he got on the end of a cross from Greg Taylor to brilliantly guide his header into the far corner to make it 1-1 in the 51st minute.
He then scored the goal to put Celtic 2-1 up in stoppage time, before Luis Palma added a third, in the 94th minute with a fantastic finish on his left foot from Alistair Johnston's cross.
The Norwich loanee did superbly to get across his defender and opened his body up to finish into the bottom corner on his weak foot, which showed great composure and quality at that point in the match.
Along with his goals, Idah's all-round performance was impressive. He won three of his six duels, completed one dribble, and completed 89% (8/9) of his attempted passes in 45 minutes plus stoppage time on the pitch.
These statistics show that the 23-year-old ace offered far more to the team than Kyogo both in his contributions in front of goal, in build-up, and out of possession, with his finishing, movement, link-up play, and strength.
Adam Idah's form for Celtic
The £23k-per-week striker did not arrive to much fanfare when he joined on loan, with no option for the club to make it permanent, from English Championship side Norwich on deadline day.
Idah had only started 12 of his 28 league appearances for the Canaries during the first half of the campaign, which meant that the Hoops – on the face of it – were signing a back-up from the second division in England to solve their goalscoring woes.
However, the Ireland international has hit the ground running in Scotland and possibly left David Wagner wondering why he did not start him more in Norfolk.
Appearances
Four
Starts
Two
Goals
Four
Big chances missed
Two
Assists
One
Sofascore rating
7.45
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the 6 foot 3 monster has provided Rodgers with a phenomenal threat at the top end of the pitch, with five goal contributions in four appearances.
These statistics, and his fantastic impact against Motherwell, show why the manager should unleash Idah from the start against Dundee this evening, as he has the quality to be a match-winner for Celtic.
Kyogo Furuhashi's struggles this season
Meanwhile, Kyogo should be brutally ditched from the XI to make way for him after his disappointing display at Fir Park last time out on Sunday.
It was, unfortunately, not a rare off-day for the Japan international as he has struggled at times this season, following on from his immense form last term.
The experienced marksman plundered 27 goals in 31 Premiership starts during the 2022/23 campaign but has not been able to carry that level of scoring over to this season.
Kyogo has played 27 times in the Scottish top-flight this term and has contributed with nine goals and three assists, which is a return of one strike every 204 minutes on average. That is down considerably from his average of one goal every 86 minutes under Ange Postecoglou last year.
His finishing has left a lot to be desired as the Japanese gem has missed more 'big chances' (13) than the forward has scored goals (nine), which suggests that he has not made the most of the chances that his teammates have provided him with.
A pass success rate of 67% and a duel success rate of 39% in the Premiership this season also does not suggest that he is making up for his wasteful finishing with quality in the build-up or out of possession.
Put simply, Idah has more to offer for Celtic in the number nine position than Kyogo on current form, both on and off the ball and in front of goal, which is why the Irish dynamo should be brought in ahead of him from the start against Dundee this evening.