One of the key reasons for Celtic's return to form, as outlined by both Brendan Rodgers and assistant manager John Kennedy, has been that Celtic's rotation players have been pulling their weight.
The main problem for Celtic in the first six months was that they were too reliant on certain individuals, with Matt O'Riley doing most of the heavy-lifting as he went on a run of scintillating form.
Over the last few weeks we have witnessed others sharing the responsibilities, and the likes of Adam Idah, Nicolas Kuhn and Yang Hyun-jun have all found form at different stages. This has resulted in healthy competition for starting jerseys, with the knock-on effect resulting in an improvement overall.
One of Celtic's most consistent performers during this period has been Tomoki Iwata, whose eight consecutive starts mark a personal best in the hoops. He has been in there following the injury layoffs to both Reo Hatate and, most recently, Callum McGregor and gave a very good account of himself in the defensive midfield role.
Usually when a team loses their captain to injury, it would be absolutely disastrous, but Iwata has slotted in seamlessly in front of the backline, shoring the team up well.
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The blow of losing the captain, a virtual ever-present in this Celtic side for a decade, has been softened by the composed performances of the Japanese midfielder, who has turned in some solid performances since stepping up in February. He has done so well, in fact, that it would seem harsh for the 26-year-old to drop out for the returning McGregor.
The only real blip Iwata had since coming into the starting line-up was his performance in the 2-0 defeat at Tynecastle against Hearts. In all fairness, however, it was a bad day at the office for all involved that afternoon in Gorgie.
Despite the impressive displays that have earned him the acclaim of the manager, Iwata will have to accept defeat in the battle for a starting place as Callum McGregor will most likely return to the starting XI.
Aberdeen have been in poor form over the last few months, with Neil Warnock lasting just 33 days as Barry Robson's successor before Peter Leven took interim charge. Elfsborg's Jimmy Thelin will take over in the summer and Dons fans will be hoping for a period of stability after a dismal league campaign has plummeted their team to a lowly ninth position.
This poor form cannot be taken lightly by Celtic, as anything can happen when the romance of the cup is added to the equation. Brendan Rodgers will be eager to have his strongest starting XI available for his first Hampden semi-final since returning to the club, and that could spell bad news for Tomoki Iwata.
Winning games is only getting more important at this stage in the season as well, and having someone in the team like McGregor, who knows what it takes to win trophies, will be massively important for Celtic.
The key thing to take from this dilemma, though, is that having a number of players bidding for a starting position can only benefit Celtic at such a key point of the campaign.
Having these debates over who starts, not because of a lack of options but due to having an abundance of them, shows that this Celtic team is ready for the task at hand - winning the league title. Even if it is from the bench, Tomoki Iwata will still have a massive part to play in these final games.
James McKenzie // @JamesWHMcKenzie