Dens Test Awaits Brendan's Bhoys

Dens Test Awaits Brendan's Bhoys
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~


October: Luke McCowan in action against Dundee in the 2-0 win when these sides last met


Dens Park, Dundee
Tuesday, 14 January 2025
20.00 GMT​

The fixtures continue to come thick and fast, with Celtic once again on the road as they journey Tayside to take on Dundee in this Premiership clash, tomorrow evening.

This will be the Bhoys' 8th game in just 23 days and with another 6 scheduled (including this one) over the next 3 weeks, there is little room for rest or reflect after the 4-1 win over Ross County at the weekend.

The last time that these sides met was at Paradise, back at the end of October. The Bhoys emerged with a reasonably comfortable 2-0 victory, courtesy of goals from Alistair Johnston and Arne Engels, and considering the continued hectic schedule, a similiar performance and result will more than suffice under the circumstancea.


Kyogo Furuhashi scored twice as Celtic defeated Ross County, 4-1 at the weekend

As for the hosts, they were not in action at the weekend, meaning thst they’ve had nearly a week off since their last match. In fact they were a little unfortunate to have to share the spoils in a 1-1 draw with Sevco in a game that the Dark Blues deserved to take all 3 points from.

While Tony Docherty's side perhaps have not quite reached the levels that they were at last season, it should be remembered that was considered an overachievement, and where they currently are, embroiled in the midtable dogfight is not entirely surprising.

That said, the Taysiders are one of the more attack minded in the Premiership, having scored the joint 3rd most goals, and if they can tighten things up at the back, it would not be beyond Dundee to make a push for another Top Six finish.​

By the Numbers​

• Celtic are undefeated by the Dark Blues, home or away, since May 2001.

• The Bhoys have won the last 11 straight meetings between these sides.

• Kasper Schmeichel has kept 17 clean sheets in 22 Premiership games so far this season - which is the best in the club’s history at this stage of a league campaign.

• There is a high chance of early goals, with these two teams being the the top two in the Premisership in terms of first half goals scored (Celtic 27, Dundee 20).

Callum McGregor is closing in on the remarkable achievement of 500 Celtic appearances

Team News

Brendan Rodgers will hopefully have a few more attacking options available for the trip to Dens Park, after the Bhoys were without wingers Daizen Maeda, Nicholas Kuhn, James Forrest and Luis Palma for the trip to Dingwall at the weekend just past.

This resulted in a tweaking of the front line, with Kyogo and Adam Idah both starting and the Japanese striker able to get far more involved. Whether the manager will be tempted to keep that agsin for this game could depend on the availability of those wider options.

As for the hosts, Docherty is expected to be once again without Scott Fraser (groin), Joe Shaughnessy (knee) and Ziyad Larkeche. On a more positive note, the Dark Blues have been strengthened by the permanant signing of Aaron Donnelly, as the defender, who was recently capped by Northern Ireland for the first time, has now rejoined the Tayside club after a successful loan.

Referee: Don Robertson

Robertson is currently rated as one of the top referees in Scottish Football, having already taken charge of 14 Premiership matches this season - the most among his peers at this stage.

Celtic's Overall Record
M:42 W:36 D:3 L:3

VAR: Andrew Dallas​

~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

Overall
P: 259 W: 156 D: 60 L: 43

Last 5 Meetings
W W W W W

~~~~ 2023/24 Form ~~~~ ​

Overall
W W W L W ~ D W L W L

SPFL
W W W L W ~ D W L W L​