Brendan's Bhoys in the Lions Den

Brendan's Bhoys in the Lions Den
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~


February: Kyogo fires home in the 3-0 win at Paradise the last time these sides met


Tony Macaroni Arena, Livingston
Saturday, 23 September 2023
12.30 BST

The Hoops return to league action this weekend with statistically the toughest away day on the domestic calender, when they travel to take on Livingston at Almondvale.

After what can only be described as a disasterous second half showing in Rotterdam on Tuesday, the Celtic support will be keen to see a quick and immediate response in an effort to move on.

And while a return to domestic matters might on paper seem an easier proposition, the away trip to Almondvale has all too often proven to be anything but that - and not just because of the pitch.

Indeed, it was not until Ange Postecglou's second visit there, in March 2022, that Celtic finally won away against Livingston since their return to the top flight in 2018.

In fact, even accounting for having won on the last two visits, in total Celtic have taken fewer points from Almondvale than they have at any other ground in Scotland - including Ipox - since the Lions returned to the Premiership, 6 years ago.

And, despite sitting at the top of the table, the form of the team so far this season has hardly been imperious. Since Rodgers' return, the Bhoys have a record of P7 W4 D1 L2 across all competitions.

It is therefore an understatement to say this is one of the trickier away days, made even more so, especially after the disappointment of midweek. It will be absolutely imperative to be fully ready and focused, without any possible European hangover or mental fatigue ahead of this game.


Liam Scales has been one of the few genuine success stories for Celtic so far the season

While Celtic have had troubles in West Lothian in the past, David Martindale's side will be a little concerned that they have yet to manage a league win in their first two home games, having split the points with both Aberdeen and St Mirren.

In their favour, Livingston have only been twice defeated at home this year, and are undefeated there since the beginning of March. It is through this resilience and tenacity that has provided the blueprint of the Lions' reputation as a tough midtable opponant, while punching above their weight.

The hosts have been going through a real belt-tightening recently and yet despite this have proven to still remain very competitive. The credit for that is naturally shared, but a considerable portion has to go to their manager, who has made the most of the resources and squad available.

All of this adds up to a clash that could be filled with plenty of intrigue, as the Bhoys have to also adapt to being required to play more than once a week, which brings it's own challenges, as does the artificial Almondvale surface, while looking to keep their noses in front of the chasing pack headed by St Mirren, and further stretch the gap over city rivals Sevco to 7 points.


Matt O'Riley was one of the Bhoys who did impress during the 2-0 loss in Rotterdam

By the Numbers​

• The Hoops are after their 5th consecutive win over Livingston in the League.

• Kyogo Furuhashi has scored each time he has started against Livingston and will be looking for a 4th consecutive goal in a game against them.

• Livingston have remained undefeated at home since Hibs' visit at the beginning of March.

• The hosts have been keeping things very tight in the first half of each of their 5 League games so far, having both scored just once and conceded only once in total across the first 45min.

Daizen Maeda in action against Dundee last weekend

Team News

The Hoops' boss could potentially make a couple of tweaks to the Bhoys' starting XI from the side that took to the field in midweek. Thankfully there have beren no new injury concerns coming out of that match, however there are still questions whether Nat Phillips' ankle will have recovered sufficiently despite missing the Feyenoord game.

Elsewhere, the return of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Marco Tilio will still be a few more weeks away, while Maik Nawrocki (hamstring) and Stephen Welsh (ankle) remain sidelined, but Mikey Johnston made his return from back trouble to be on the bench in midweek.

As for the home side, they will once again be without Cristian Montano (calf) and Sean Kelly, who hasn't featured since being injured during the League Cup campaign, back in July.​

Referee: John Beaton​

Beaton has taken charge of 215 Premiership games siince he made his top flight debut in March 2012. Saturday will be the 50th time that he will have taken charge of a game involving Celtic (including Cup games), but the Hoops will be looking for a change in trend, after having drawn 3 of the past 4 league games when Beaton has held the whistle.

Celtic's Overall Record
M: 49 W: 37 D: 9 L: 3

VAR: Steven McLean​

~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

Overall
P: 33 W: 24 D: 7 L: 2​

Last 5 Meetings
W W W W D

~~~~ 2023/24 Form ~~~~​

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

SPFL
W W D W W ~ D D W L D​