Hoops Hungry for Derby Domination
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~


Deadly Daizen Maeda has netted 11 goals in his last 8 appearances since the start of February


Celtic Park, Glasgow
Sunday, 16 March 2025
12.30 GMT

It's derby day once again this weekend, with Celtic looking to take a crucial step and all but seal that the Premiership title will be staying in the East End of Glasgow once again.

The Hoops have dominated this head to head fixture in recent times, and although the last meeting between these teams did not go the way that anyone associated with Celtic would have liked, credit to Brendan Rodgers and the Bhoys, who have kicked on since then to open up the current 16 point gap going into this match.

After the Bhoys secured their passage through to the Final Four of the Scottish Cup with the 2-0 victory over Hibs at the weekend, courtesy of goals from Daizen Maeda and Adam Idah, Celtic will want to have the Premiership wrapped up before they line up against St Johnstone in the Semi-Final, next month.

Brendan Rodgers has seen the response from his players since the last times these sides met, and even with the Bhoys dominance at the top of the league ladder, will be keen to once again restore that dominance to this derby match also.

"We never performed anywhere near what the demand for this game was for the last game, so we are very hungry to put that right."
- Brendan Rodgers


Kasper Schmeichel will want to add to his 12 clean sheets in 14 Premiership games at 'Home' this season

Meanwhile, Sevco have been catching plenty of headlines lately, including having dispensed with the services of Philippe Clement as manager since the last time these sides met, with Barry Ferguson having been installed until the end of the season, but the Govan club are still struggling to find any sort of consistency. Which poses the question of which Sevco will show up on Sunday.

The visitors arrive for this match on the back of qualifiying for the Europa League Quarter FInal - courtesy of the lottery of penalties against the Turkish side who won the match on the night, 2-0, making that now a 4th straight loss at Ipox for the Govan club.

It remains to be seen what the combined effect of just 3 days rest after a taxing 120min of football will have on the visitors, but they will be accompanied by away fans for the first time in a League game between these sides in over two years, with approximately 2500 in attendance on Sunday.

Celtic cannot allow for any complacency, nor take anything for granted when it comes to matches against Sevco. Indeed, the Hoops need to perform if they are to excise any remaining demons that may've lingered since the disappointment of the new year fixture, as well as acknowledging how closely pushed all the way to penalties in the League Cup Final, so nothing less than a comprehensive victory will re-establish the Celts' head to head dominance over their city rivals.



Stats and Facts​

• Celtic are undefeated at 'Home' against all Scottish opposition since December 2023.

• The Bhoys are also undefeated at 'Home' in this fixture since October 2020 (W7 D3) - including winning the past 6 straight encounters at Parkhead.

• Brendan Rodgers will be looking to add to his very impressive personal record against Sevco, winning 15 of 21 in total (P21 W15 D4 L2).

• The Hoops have won their last 10 straight Premiership games at Celtic Park, by an aggregate of 37-1 in that run.

Jota will be looking to add to the 4 goals he scored in this fixture during his first spell as a Celt

Team News

Celtic will already be without the injured Paulo Bernardo (ankle) and Liam Scales (cheekbone, which may require surgery), while skipper Callum McGregor is set to undergo a fitness test on Saturday to determine if he will be able to lead the Bhoys.

As for the visitors, interum boss Barry Ferguson was somewhat tightlipped regarding the fitness of his squad ahead of this game, while admitting that there were some 'walking wounded'. For instance, Connor Barron is a serious doubt while Nerayaho Kasanwijo is almost certainly set to miss the match also.

Since Ferguson took over from Clement, he has alternated between a 4-2-3-1 formation and a 3-4-2-1, so it will be curious to see how they lineup on Sunday, but it could come down to how players have recovered, following the Fenerbache match.​

Referee: Steven McLean

Despite making his Premiership debut in May 2010, this will be the just the 3rd time overall that McLean has been appointed to a match between these sides (W1 D0 L1). Celtic's recent record in all matches when the 43 y.o. has officiated is also below par, with the Hoops having won just twice in the past 6 occasions (W2 D2 L2).

Overall Record
M:43 W:32 D:5 L:6

VAR: John Beaton



~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

Overall
P: 44 W:25 D:8 L:11

Last 5 Meetings
L D W W W

~~~~ 2022/23 Form ~~~~

All Comps
W W W L D ~ L W L W L

SPFL
W W L W W ~ L W L W W​