We’re finally back after the international break as Celtic FC Women face Partick Thistle on the return to Scottish Women’s Premier League action. After securing a point against Rangers at Ibrox last time out, we only sit four points behind our rivals, who top the table.
When we played Partick Thistle back in October, we beat them 3-0 at Petershill Park. Paula Partido, Murphy Agnew and Chloe Craig were the goalscorers in the dominant display.
Despite being beaten last time though, Brian Graham’s Thistle side look like they may have a chance going into this one. They have been on great form this season, securing their place in the top six beyond any doubt and being one of the three teams to take points off theRangers this season. They have also taken their place in the final of the Sky Sports Cup after beating Hibs.
Thistle have won 70% of their away games, scoring three goals on average and conceding two. Only 30% of their games have finished with more than two goals for the team, but they have only failed to score in 20% of those fixtures. Up the other end of the pitch, they have kept clean sheets in 40% of their games, compared to Celtic’s 56%.
All stats are courtesy of FootyStats. Percentages and averages only cover games played in the Scottish Women’s Premier League and UEFA Women’s Champions League.
To round up, Thistle have performed well in away games this season, with a good record of wins and goals scored. They have a decent defensive record, though not as good as Celtic’s, especially when the Hoops are at home. Based on all of the statistics, Thistle could be considered to have a slight chance of winning, but Celtic certainly edge it and are the favourites.
Ahead of the return to domestic action, Elena Sadiku spoke to Celtic TV. She said: “When you work hard towards something, it gives you more motivation to keep going and to keep working harder. Not only talking from the staff side, but for the players, you get more and more hungry to get better and better.
“It’s going to be a hard test. Before playing against (the)Rangers, they [Thistle] tied against them, and they are a good team with a good team effort for every game. We’re not going to expect an easy game, but we need to focus on ourselves. If we play how good we know we can play, it’s going to be hard for any opponent to meet us.
“When you’ play for Celtic, every game it’s important for us to get a good performance and to win games. There’s no difference just because this is the last fixture [before the split]. We need to focus on every game as if it’s our last one. It’s not a more important game than others, it’s just an important game like always.
“It was a long time ago since I’ve had my first game [at home], and it wasn’t even in the league. I’m looking forward to playing in front of our fans again and on our home pitch. I think that’s not only something that I’m looking forward to but the girls as well.”
Celtic Team News
Hana Kerner and Luana Muñoz are the only players still out. Therefore, we’re going into this with, what is arguably, our strongest squad. I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing the same squad we saw start at Ibrox, maybe with one or two changes. Either way, it’ll be exciting to see how we look after some time off.
Player’s View
Murphy Agnew previewed the game with Celtic TV as she looked ahead to Sunday’s game. She said: “[The international break] was good. Well-deserved rest, I think. It was fun.
“I think we’ve made a lot of good steps, we’re looking better every game and we’re hoping to get a good win this weekend. I think [the break]was a good reset. We played a really tough game against (the)Rangers away, so it was good to have a little break, relax and get ready to go again.
“It’s huge [to go into the post-split fixtures on a good result]. We don’t want to drop any points. We want to win the league. Another win against Partick would be a good step towards that. Our fans are the best, we always play for them, so it’ll be good to play for a bit crowd. Especially after theRangers game.”
Match Officials
Connor Ashwood is the referee for Partick Thistle vs Celtic, with Lewis Brown and Joseph Cheney assisting him. No VAR to worry about in the SWPL1, at least for now.
Kick-off Time
Our return to league action kicks off at 14:00 at the Excelsior Stadium. Tickets available HERE.
Where to Watch
Of course, the best place to watch this game is at the Excelsior Stadium, but if you can’t make it, the game will also be available to watch live on BBC Sport Scotland.
Score Prediction
Celtic FC Women 4 – 1 Partick Thistle is my prediction. Returning to the Excelsior, I think the Ghirls will be determined to put on a show in front of a home crowd. I could see Thistle getting one or two though, because as mentioned earlier, they are in good form and could try to pull off a shock result.
COYGIG!
Jessica Elliott
