Celtic face Motherwell this afternoon as Brendan Rodgers’ side return to domestic action. The Scottish Champions held Europa League winners Atalanta to a 0-0 draw in the UEFA Champions League.
After Aberdeen’s late win over Dundee United at Pittodrie, Jimmy Thelin’s team sit top having played a game more. Celtic know that a win will see them regain their place at the top of the table ahead of the midweek fixture against Dundee at Paradise then the League Cup semi-final at Hampden against Aberdeen this coming Saturday.
Celtic Team News
“We’ve got Cam (Carter-Vickers) back training with the squad, which is good news. Greg Taylor as well. So we’ve got one more day to go and then we’ll see how they are, but they hopefully will be involved in the game,” Brendan Rodgers said at his media conference on Friday lunchtime.
Celtic go into the game with the added boost of Cameron Carter-Vickers. The USA Internationalist has been training with a view to returning to the team but missed the trip to Bergamo. The central defender will be in contention to return to the team but you’d imagine that the manager will get him some game time but from the bench. You would, therefore, imagine that the defensive pairing would be the same with Auston Trusty and Liam Scales starting.
Greg Taylor has been training but the game will likely be too soon for the Scotland International. Alex Valle will continue at left back with Alistair Johnston at right back.
There have been plenty calls for Luke McCowan to be handed his first Celtic start but given the competition in the midfield, it is unlikely that the manager will change too much in the midfield. The midfield three will consist of Callum McGregor, Arne Engels and probably Reo Hatate with Paulo Bernardo and McCowan offering depth.
In attack, the manager will likely return to the preferred trio of Nicolas Kühn, Kyogo and Daizen Maeda with firepower from Idah, Luis Palma, James Forrest and Yang coming from the bench.
Celtic Manager’s View
“I think it’s always been a tough place to go. I always really enjoy going there. It’s always a really good atmosphere. We bring a great support behind the goals. So, yes, they’re always tough games. Stuart (Kettlewell) has his team set up well. They go between, obviously a back five and then whether they play two strikers up front and three midfield or a sort of 3-4-3 structure. It can just depend. The last few weeks, it’s been more 5-3-2.
“So, we’ll expect a team that will be well organised. Stuart organises his teams very, very well, very organised, very committed. They’ll be disappointed with the last result. So, they want to bounce back from that. And for us, we know what we need after a Champions League game. It’s a big energy, a big attitude and continue with a great start to the season for us.”
Celtic Player’s View – Nicolas Kühn
“I think like a lot of games in the league we have to create a lot of chances as we are going to have the ball. We have to take our chances and do a bit better than we did against Aberdeen.
You train less and have fewer days to recover but for us, it can also be good to just play the matches and show what we can and get the points. We have to deliver and do it in a short period of time.”
Predicted Celtic Team
Schmeichel; Johnston, Trusty, Scales, Valle; McGregor (c), Hatate, Engels; Kühn, Kyogo and Maeda.
Match Officials
Photo by Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock referee David Dickinson
David Dickinson has been appointed as referee for the game at Fir Park. Dickinson will be assisted by Jonathan Bell and Steven Traynor. Meanwhile, at Clydesdale House, Alan Muir is on VAR with Gary Hilland assisting.
Kick Off Time
The game kicks off at 3pm (Celtic Park Time).
Where to Watch
The game will be shown on Sky Sports Football with coverage starting at 2:30pm. Celtic TV subscribers outside Britain and Ireland will be able to watch the game on the club’s own channel.
Score Prediction
Today’s game has extra significance after Aberdeen’s late winner against Dundee United yesterday afternoon. Celtic usually stand up and deliver on days like these. Motherwell 0-3 Celtic.
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