It could be argued that picking Celtic’s starting XI for Martin O’Neill this season has been pretty easy.

The reason is that the Celtic boss just needs to reference his side’s last game and axe those who started because, more than likely, they haven’t produced the goods.

That was proven in Lisbon on Thursday night as Celtic were beaten by Benfica in the Europa League, with many players coming under fire for their performances.

That’s why ahead of Celtic’s showdown with Hearts, 67 Hail Hail want to see several changes, including the inclusion of Callum Osmand for the first time this season, because he was a livewire against Benfica.

What changes would you make from the start vs Hearts to avoid more half-time substitutions? 🤔

Five changes, including Camilo Duran up top: Celtic’s predicted XI vs Hearts

This will be the first time Celtic and Hearts lock horns since that famous afternoon on the final day of last season that utterly broke the Jambos.

Even to this day, Hearts still feel that title heartache, and the Celtic Park faithful will be sure to remind them of it on Sunday afternoon.

Nonetheless, given that the games are now coming thick and fast, this is where O’Neill needs to rotate his XI across the board.

It’s not yet known if Cameron Carter-Vickers will be fit, so O’Neill should go with his regular centre-back pairing of last season, and that’s Auston Trusty alongside Liam Scales.

In the middle of the park, Callum McGregor needs a rest, and this is where Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will surely get a long-awaited start, with Benjamin Nygren returning in the number ten role.

Celtic fans will also be interested to see who starts up top, but it should be pretty straightforward because Camilo Duran is the guy, with Osmand and Haissem Hassan either side of him.

You do have the likes of Joel van den Berg floating around, but nobody knows his current status or when fans will get to see him play because he is supposed to be Arne Engels’ replacement.

Added to that, it’s great to see Jota back in action, but the coaching staff will need to be careful with him, and it will be about making as many positive cameo appearances as he can from the bench before starting a game.

Other than that, this squad is broken, and there isn’t enough variety because of the woeful 2026 summer transfer window to make the required changes possible.