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Rangers 2-3 Celtic

The game against Scotland's shame last Sunday had even the most composed of Celtic fans on the edge of their seat. In a thrilling contest between 1st and 2nd place, the Hoops twice came from behind with goals from Tom Rogic, Moussa Dembele, and on-loan substitute Odsonne Edouard to win the match, despite being down to 10 men following Jozo Simunovic's dismissal.

It was a game that had been built up by the media as a chance for The Rangers to put pressure on Celtic in the title race, and many inside the Govan side's camp had the same optimistic outlook. However, a determined and resilient show from the away team had them and the ecstatic supporters bouncing and looking as strong as ever to cope with the demands of a championship run-in.

The win sent Celtic 8 points clear on 67, with their nearest rivals having played a game more - a comfortable lead to take into the back 9 of the league.


Motherwell v Celtic

The Steelmen face the men in green for the first time since a treble-header back in late November / early December, which included the Betfred Cup final win for the Hoops. The other results, a 1-1 draw at Fir Park, and a 5-1 trouncing at Celtic Park in the third meeting compounding...

We are just days away from the biggest game against Rangers since their promotion to the SPFL just two seasons ago.

With Rodgers' side currently 6 points ahead with a game in hand, it's the closest the title race has been for some time.
Both sides enter the game in winning domestic form - Celtic with a 3-0 Scottish Cup win against Greenock Morton, while Rangers were 4-1 victors against Falkirk.

Dembele is coming into the game off the back of a brace against Greenock Morton, while Rangers' Cummings scored a hattrick against Falkirk. Both will be relishing the prospect of adding to this season's goal tally against Rangers on Sunday.

It was a cagey affair the last time the sides met at the end of December, with the game ending 0-0. There were really only two clear-cut chances of note - Celtic's Sinclair hitting wide from close range for celtic while Rangers' Morelos had a header saved from point blank range by Craig Gordon.

Celtic manager Rodgers felt a draw was a fair result. Speaking with the BBC, he said "First half we had created the better chances in the game, and some of the opportunities - how we didn't score them.

"It made it a wee bit difficult for us in the second half. If we score that first goal then of course it can really change the mentality in the game so we didn't quite get that.

"And then second half we had to defend a little bit more than what he had in the first half. They didn't create virtually anything in the first half but second half they had a couple of chance - one half-chance and one real, real good chance that Craig Gordon makes a great save from.

"So probably a point apiece is what both teams deserve.

Although disappointed with the performance in the last game against Rangers, he feels Celtic are ready for the big games heading into the final part of the season. He said "We're arriving into the league at that stage, with 10 games to go, so we're really excited about that,"

"This team have...

AFTER so much talk beforehand regarding their poor performances of late and the prowess of their Russian opponents, Brendan Rodgers and his Celtic players can walk away from Paradise this evening beaming with delight at both the result and attitude they showed against European mainstays Zenit St Petersburg. A superb Callum McGregor finish on 78 minutes was enough to down Roberto Mancini's side, and was the very least that the Hoops deserved on a night where they hustled and harried the Italian's outfit from beginning to end. The lead may be a slender one, but with a clean sheet to go with it and with Zenit also still seemingly finding their form again after a 2 month winter break, Celtic can go into next week's 2nd leg with every hope of progressing to the Last 16.

It is fair to say that the Hoops have looked out of sorts for much of this season. The likelihood of us repeating the extraordinary exploits of last season domestically was never really likely, and it appears that many of the players have suffered from a 'hangover' of sorts throughout this season's games. European performances in particular have not offered much hope and this combined with our recent level of performance to create a real 'doom and gloom' feeling approaching tonight's 1st leg. Zenit were talked up continually even by our own press - as per usual - and put upon an almost godly pedestal at times. If you'd have bought into the hype prior, then you would have been forgiven for believing that another 5-0 home trouncing was on the cards.

Despite being a good side -...

After taking part in a FAS/FAI course run by former Celtic and Cork City player Mike Conroy, Miller was signed by his boyhood heroes, Celtic Football Club, in October 1997. Still only 16 years old, he went straight into the academy set-up where he was coached by Willie McStay and...

Venue: Celtic Park
Date: 15/2/18
Kick off: 20:05
Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN)

European football returns to Paradise as Celtic host Russian side Zenit on Thursday. The blues of St. Petersburg face the Bhoys for the first time in UEFA competition, and they will prove a formidable test for the Glaswegians having qualified in emphatic style from their group.

Scoring more goals and amassing more points than any other side in the group stages, Roberto Mancini's team come to Scotland to play their first competitive game since the first week of December, as the Russian winter break runs until March.

That could be seen as a key advantage for Celtic, who have played 6 matches since their own hibernation period (W5, L1). Zenit fell at the first knockout hurdle last season, having struggled to get to full speed with the lack of proper games.

Celtic also hold a decent record against Russian opposition, having won half of their matches of the 6 played (W3 D2 L1). Their record in Glasgow is less impressive (W1 D1 L1), although they did win the most recent encounter, 2-1 against Spartak Moskva in the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League group stage.

Zenit's solitary experience of Scottish opposition came on arguably the greatest night in the St Petersburg club's history – when they defeated Celtic's former arch-rivals Rangers 2-0 in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup final in Manchester.

The manager, Roberto Mancini, also achieved arguably his greatest feat in Manchester, when his City side won the Premier League title in memorable fashion on the final day against QPR in 2012. Celtic's Kolo Toure was part of the Italian's squad at the time, and there's more familiar faces in...