Brendan Rodgers has warned red-hot Hibs that they will face a different Celtic this time around after David Gray’s men shocked the champions a fortnight ago at Easter Road.
Celtic went into that match in Leith off the back of a hectic schedule, and had played in the Allianz Arena against Bayern Munich on the Wednesday night before taking on Hibs on the Saturday lunchtime.
That contributed, in Rodgers’ view, to a sluggish start from his side, as Josh Campbell opened the scoring after a couple of minutes before adding a second just before the interval, meaning that a late Celtic rally and a counter from Daizen Maeda wasn’t enough to salvage anything from the match.
Hibs have since beaten Hearts in the Edinburgh derby to take their unbeaten run to 15 games in all competitions, with their only loss in their last 18 matches coming the last time they visited Celtic Park, where they lost 3-0 in early December.
With a free week to prepare for Sunday’s Scottish Cup clash, Rodgers is expecting his men to be at a similar level or even better than they were on that day, and he has predicted a tough afternoon for the visitors as a result.
“The context of that game [at Easter Road], we're coming off the back of a really, really busy, busy schedule, and coming off the European game,” Rodgers said.
“Hibs started well, got the goal after a few minutes, which gave them belief. And then they scored late on in the half.
“But no, I've come away from the game seeing a team that's very well organised, in a different space to what they were at the beginning of the season. Very structured in their play in the game. And they've got some dangerous players.
“So, it's a game we know we have to be very good in to get to the semi-final.
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“It's pretty unique [to have a free week] really, over the course of the last three months or so. And you can't begin to imagine what that gives you in terms of the opportunity to prepare, to recover, mentally, physically.
“We're playing at home, and we love to play at home. We'll have 50,000-odd supporters that will be with us in the game. And we're very hungry to get to Hampden.
“Listen, these players have been absolutely brilliant for me this season. They’ve dealt with so much over the course of the season, but in the main have been so consistent in performance level. But not just performance level. In order to perform well, you need the right mentality.
“So, the mentality of the team, the consistency has been very, very good. We lost that game, and we have to take that and learn from it. But the reaction in terms of goals and attack and play has been very, very good.
“We wanted a little bit of time that would freshen up our defensive quality, because that, in the main, has been very good all season. And probably just a little bit of tiredness has crept into some of our defending.
“But this week has been really good and we look to put in a complete performance.
“I think in this game, the context of the game is totally different to when we played a couple of weeks ago.
“We've had 150% focus this week on the game, the energy in the game will be totally different. And I expect a difficult game, but I also expect Hibs to have a very difficult game also.”
“I just think it'll be fantastic,” he said.
“I think having that number of away supporters is great. Hibs are on a very good run, so the supporters will be buoyed by that as well.
“And they'll come and support the team and that'll activate our supporters as well. So, it should be a great atmosphere.
“We're really looking forward to it. It should be a great game, great atmosphere, so yeah, we're excited about it.”
That strong ticket uptake from both sets of fans shows, in Rodgers view, that the Scottish Cup – unlike perhaps the FA Cup in England – has lost none of its lustre.
“I think up here, we can never forget about that,” he said.
“The history around the competition itself, us as a football club being the most successful club in it, tells you everything what it means to us here.
“From my first spell here, coming in 2016, I've always recognised the importance of this competition, which is why we give absolutely everything to try and win it.
“But I think every team is the same. Every team up here, they love the magic of the Scottish Cup, that final at Hampden, it's such a special trophy to play for.
“Especially when you get to the quarter-final stage, the final is there, but you have to just focus on that game and the games that can take you there.”
Liam Scales will miss the game against Hibs after sustaining a cheekbone injury in the win over St Mirren last week, while Paulo Bernardo and James Forrest also remain sidelined.
