Bhoys Battle Killie in Cup Clash

Bhoys Battle Killie in Cup Clash
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~


Matt O'Riley scored twice in the 4-1 win when Celtic last faced Kilmarnock, back in April


Rugby Park, Kilmarnock
Saturday, 20 August 2023
15.00 BST

The Hoops begin their quest for a third consecutive League Cup when they take on Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Sunday afternoon.

Celtic defeated the Ayrshire side in the Semi-Final of last season's competition also, and will be hoping for a similiar result when these sides meet again this weekend.

But the Bhoys will need to be well prepared for this match, as this could prove to be a tricky Cup tie. Kilmarnock already have a proven track record at home and Celtic will have to do what neither Sevco or Hearts were able to, and that is find a way past a strong, deternined and robust Killie defence.

While the team appear to have been hitting their stride in an attacking sense, having found the net 7 times combined in the matches against County and Aberdeen, there are other areas of concern that Brendan Rodgers will be needing to address, with the Hoops having yet to record a clean sheet.

Naturally with the departure of Carl Starfelt and the absence through injury and recovery respectively of Alistair Johnston and Cameron Carter-Vickers, combined with the introduction of new players to the set up, has meant that the defence has looked a bit shakey to say the least.

Not just for this contest, but there are some big games coming up, both domestically and in the Champions League,


Celtic need Joe Hart to use his experience and communication skills to better organize the defence

Killie already look a much improved team from last season. They have recruited reasonably well over the summer, are younger, fitter and faster, have used the Group Stage of this comp to get players bedded in, are well organized and given their more than respectable record at home since Derek McInnes took over, could prove to be a tough proposition for a lot of teams this campaign.​

Sunday's hosts have reached this point, having progressed through the Group stage with wins over Annan Athletic, Dunfermline, Albion Rovers and sharing the spoils with Raith Rovers to set up this showdown.

The Rugby Park outfit have further enhanced their form this season by remaining undefeated in the League also, including a win over Sevco on the opening day of the season at home and followed this up with earning a point away at Tynecastle against Hearts, having kept back to back clean sheets.

At the core of this has been the impressive display by the back three set up of Lewis Mayo, Robbie Deas and Stuart Findlay. All three are tall, strong and aggressive and are providing a strong and cohesive defensive platform for those in front of them, aided by wing-backs Corrie Ndaba and Daniel Armstrong allowing Killie to switch in formations from 3-5-2 to 5-3-2 as the game requires.


Kyogoal! The striker has started this season with a bang, netting in each of the first two games

By the Numbers​

• The Hoops are undefeated in all meetings against Kilmarnock since September 2018 - during Brendan Rodgers' first stint as Celtic manager.

• Celtic are hunting their 8th League Cup in a decade - including having won 6 in the past 7 seasons!!!

• The hosts are so far undefeated this season in all competitions.

• In fact, Derek McInnes' side are yet to be scored against in the League this season, having recorded clean sheets against both Sevco and Hearts.

Team News

Brendan Rodgers is contending with something of a selection headache due to the number of players currently unavailable through injury. And the situation deepened this week, with reports emerging that Stephen Welsh is to be out for the next 2 months.

This is in addtion to Cameron Carter-Vickers (hamstring) and Reo Hatate (calf), while the manager has rated these as 'not too serious', it will mean they are both sidelined for now. Elsewhere, Oh Hyeon-gyu (calf) and Mikey Johnston (back) remain out, while Alistair Johnston and Marco Tillo are slowly making their way back but are expected to be still a few weeks away.

Meanwhile, Yuki Kobayashi could be available once again as is new signing, Gustav Lagerbielke, who could potentially be in line to make his debut this weekend.

As for Killie, it has revealed that defender Joe Wright (thigh) is close to a return although as the player has not featured this season McInnes is cautious about pushing him back until he has had at least another full week's training under his belt, which means he will likely not be ready for this weekend.​

Referee: Alan Muir

Muir officiated his first League Cup game in 2008 and although he has taken charge of 34 such matches since then, has never officiated past the Quarter-Final stage. Ironically, the last time he held the whistle in a League Cup game involving the Hoops was at the same stage against Kilmarnock - which the Bhoys won 5-0 in 2017.

Celtic have never lost any of the 39 games when Muir has been the referee.

Celtic's Overall Record
M: 39 W: 35 D: 4 L: 0

VAR: Don Robertson​

~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

Overall
P: 255 W: 169 D: 56 L: 30​

Last 5 Meetings
W W W W W
​