Celts Must Do Well Better

Celts Must Do Well Better
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~


Men in the middle to be watched: Matt O'Riley in action against Motherwell's Blair Spittal


Fir Park, Motherwell
Sunday, 25 February 2024
12.00 GMT

The business end of the Premiership season is truly upon us now, as Celtic travel across Lanarkshire to take on 9th placed Motherwell, this weekend.

As a venue, Fir Park is one that the Bhoys have enjoyed consistent success over the past few seasons, having won on each of the last 8 visits since 2019, and they will be looking forward to the opportunity of getting back on track, while being aware they cannot afford any more slip ups.

Last week's 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock saw more points dropped, which means for the first time since 1 February 2022, Celtic are not in pole position in the race for the Premiership title. But it was not simply the result that was disappointing, as the performance left a lot to be desired.

In what will now be a test of his managerial mettle in a way that has never before really been required during his time in Scotland, Brendan Rodgers must quickly find a way to get consistent results, if the Hoops are to retain their Premiership crown.

Turning Point

The last time these sides met back in November, Celtic had the chance to extend the gap at the top of the table to 11 points. It is possible to trace back to that 1-1 game as to when Celtic started to drop points on an all too frequent basis.

Fast forward to mid-February and the Hoops are now trailing city rivals, Sevco, by 2 points and cannot afford to drop any more as the title race heats up with 12 games left.

Perhaps victory on Sunday coupled with a strong performance will provide the catalyst for the Hoops to get back into the groove, as the season enteres the final third of the campaign.​

Kyogo is adapting to his new '10' role and has now scored in back to back games ​

As for Sunday's hosts, they have been on their own curious run of results, with just the single league win in 2024 - but also only a single league loss in that same time, which happened to be last weekend's 2-0 defeat by Hearts.

While the Steelmen have continued to pick up points, they have not won back to back games since the start of September, but rather have drawn more games (11) than any other team in the Premiership. Indeed, no team in the entire four divisions of the SPFL have drawn more than Motherwell have so far this season!

Manager Stuart Kettlewell at times must feel like he is living on a pendulum; full of praise for the fighting quality of his squad when clawing back after behind behind, while being equally infuriated when they have dropped points from clear winnable situations.

Fir Park has been one of the away venues that Celtic have performed consistently well over the past few years, including earlier this season in dramatic circumstances, when Matt O'Riley scored with the proverbial last kick of the ball in the 97th minute, to secure a 2-1 win back in September.

Prior to that, Brendan Rodgers had only won there once during his first spell in charge, in a dramatic 4-3 comeback win in December 2016, before drawing his subsequent three visits there, between November 2017 and December 2018.​

By the Numbers​

• The Hoops have been undefeated by Motherwell since December 2015.

• The Hoops have won each of the last 8 visits to Fir Park (7LG 1LC).

• Motherwell remain undefeated in the league when they have scored first.

• No team in the entire SPFL have drawn more times than Motherwell (11) this season.

Cameron Carter-Vickers could return for this weekend's match against Motherwell

Team News

The Bhoys will continue to be without Reo Hatate (calf) and Liel Abada (personal), however Alistair Jonston and Cameron Carter-Vickers are again available.

Joe Hart revealed through the week that he will be retiring at the end of this season. Celtic fans will be hopeful that this will inspire the former England International over the next few months to produce a strong run of goalkeeping masterclasses on the way to more silverware to sign off with, after such a highly successful career.​

As for Stuart Kettlewell's side, Callum Slattery and Celtic loanee Adam Montgomery have been ruled out for the rest of the season, however Andy Halliday will once again be available after having missed out last week against Hearts, which is his parent club.

Referee: Willie Collum

The 45 y.o. is the longest active referee at this level, with more than 360 career Premiership games since making his debut in April 2006. Collum was also the referee for Celtic's last minute 2-1 win at Fir Park, back in September.

Celtic's 0verall Record
M90 W68 D12 L10

VAR: Gavin Duncan


Goalkeeper Joe Hart has announced he will be retiring at the end of the season

~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

Overall
P: 301 W: 182 D: 68 L: 51​

Last 5 Meetings
D W D W W

~~~~ 2023/24 Form ~~~~ ​

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

SPFL
D W D W W ~ L D W D D​