Hoops Host Hibs in League Cup

Hoops Host Hibs in League Cup
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~

Nicholas Kuhn impressed in the 2-0 win against Hibs, scoring one and assiting the other

Celtic Park, Glasgow
Sunday, 18 April 2024
15.00 BST

The Hoops and Hibs are set to go head to head once again, with the two sides playing this League Cup fixture at Paradise, this weekend.

The Bhoys have started the season in fine form and will be looking to carry that forward as they begin their quest to reclaim the one piece of domestic silverware that elluded them last term.

Last Sunday's 2-0 victory over Hibs was by some considerable distance the best performance that any Brendan Rodgers side has put on at Easter Road during either of his spells in charge, and that is not simply brcause of the result, but of the performance as well. Nicholas Kuhn finished from a James Forrest cutback, which gave the Hoops an early advantage, and that was doubled with Callum McGregor's spectacular strike from distance.

One week on and these two foes line up once again, and for Celtic it is all about maintaining their early season form and momentum in a competition that the Bhoys have dominated over the past decade, having lifted the League Cup in 7 of the past 10 seasons. ​

Skipper Callum McGregor hit a stunning strike from 25 yards to make it 2-0 last weekend

As for the visitors, manager David Gray has some serious headaches already beginning to pile up, but he could see this as a free hit in a way, as he seeks to get Hibs back on track this season.

While the Edinburgh side qualified through the group stage of the League Cup, it was not all smooth sailing, having lost to Kelty Hearts either side of their comfortable wins over both Queens Park and Peterhead.

The early season form issues have been compounded, after back to back Premiership defeats and have not yet registered even a single goal as yet. ​

That task is not going to get any easier and history is not on their side when they travel along the M8 to Glasgow to face Celtic at Parkhead - where Hibs have not won since January 2010, and in fact it has been over 20 years since the last time that Hibs defeated the Celts in a League Cup clash.
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Welcome back Adam Idah: The Irishman has joined Celtic permanantly after a successful loan spell

Suffice to say, Celtic are justified to be considered as very strong favouritea going into this game, but in a Cup game, where 90 minutes of football has often produced the most random and unexpected results, nothing can be taken for granted and especially fresh in the memory of what happened at this same stage of the competition last season against Killie, and will be looking to safeguard against a repeat this year, as the Bhoys begin their League Cup quest.

Stats & Facts​

• Since Hibernian won promotion back to the Premiership in 2017, the Bhoys have won 13 of the past 25 league meetings between these sides (P25 W13 D9 L3).

• Across all competitions, Celtic are undefeated since March and are undefeated at home since December 2023.

• Hibernian have not won at Parkhead since January 2010.

• Celtic have also won every League Cup meeting between these sides since December 2003.

Team News

Adam Idah should be immediately available after he signed a 5 year deal earlier this week, The Irish striker had a successful loan spell earlier this year, netting 8 goals in 15 appearances, including twice against Hibs as well as being the hero late on, in last season's Scottish Cup Final.

The Hoops are likely to be without Luis Palma (ankle) and doubts linger over Kyogo Furuhashi (shoulder) and was rated as 'wait and see' by the manager and Mikey Johnston is also set to sit this one out after the headknock he took last week, but elsewhere Rodgers confirmed that Alistair Johnston will be fine and is available after feeling some tightness last week, despite missing training on Friday.

As for the visitors, midfielder Nicky Cadden is fit and ready, but David Gray has confirmed that both Elie Youan and Junior Hoilett are both ruled out, while Kwon Hyeok-kyu, who joined the Edinburgh side on a season long loan from Celtic, is not eligible to play against his parent club.

Referee: Kevin Clancy

The 40y.o. has been officiating at the top level of Scottish Football since 2011/12. This will be his first time refereeing Celtic in the League Cup since the Bhoys were knocked out by Ross County during the ill-fated 2020/21 campaign.

Celtic Overall Record with Clancy
M: 55 W: 40 D: 8 L: 7

VAR: Andrew Dallas


~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

Overall
P: 322 W: 185 D: 82 L: 55​

Last 5 Meetings
W W W D L

~~~~ 2024/25 Form ~~~~

All Comps
W W ~ L L W L W​