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TalkCeltic - The Ultimate Celtic FC Forum

TalkCeltic is an unofficial Celtic FC website and forum. A place to discuss all things Celtic Football Club related with other like-minded supporters.

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The Tale of The Tape

The final derby game of the season comes to Ibrox this Saturday for Setanta's 12.30pm live offering from the SPL this weekend. The race for the title looks like reaching an intriguing finale with 4 games remaining for both title combatants Celtic and Rangers, with this game in particular the definition of the infamous 6 pointer. Both managers have several crucial decisions to make with regards to team selection and formation, with each side having enforced absentees and injuries to contend with in what could very well be a title decider. Here we will look at each team in isolation;

Celtic

Manager - Gordon Strachan


Strachan: Has Key decisions to make.​

The 3 in a row title winner won the tactical battle the last time both sides met with a...
Below-par Celtic had Scott McDonald to thank, as his goals helped the champions to come from behind and * all three points at Pittodrie.

Gordon Strachan's side didn't enjoy the best of starts as Dons striker Chris Maguire capitalised on a defensive lapse in concentration, with his lofted effort beating Artur Boruc but dropping wide of the post.

Aberdeen's greatest threat came from set-pieces, the type of situation that has been Celtic's achilles heel all season. It was no surprise then that Aberdeen would open the scoring from a free-kick. A wicked deliver from ex-Celt Charlie Mulgrew was glanced in by Chris Maguire.

Pre-match doubts about the fitness of Shunsuke Nakamura looked justified as he failed to make any impact in the first half, but he wasn't the only one. The only bright sparks in the first half came from the link-up play between Scott McDonald and Aiden McGeady, and a long-range effort from Paul Hartley.

It was Player of the Year contender Gary Caldwell...
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CRUNCH TIME

Celtic begin the first of five crucial matches in their quest for a fourth successive SPL title, with a trip to Pittodrie on Saturday lunchtime to take on Aberdeen, the same side that the hoops faced in their last fixture a fortnight ago.

Goals from Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Scott McDonald helped Gordon Strachan's men to a comfortable 2-0 victory on that occasion, but Celtic will be fully aware that this Saturday's game will be a much tougher proposition.


McDonald strikes in last encounter

Aberdeen are yet to taste defeat on home soil against the Old Firm this season, and the memories of that disappointing 4-2 reversal in January, which incidentally is the last time Celtic failed to take at least a point from an SPL fixture, will still be on the minds of the Celtic squad,...
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Reserves make it eight in a row

RANGERS… 0
CELTIC… 1
(Ferry 70)

RANGERS (4-3-3) McGregor; Durie, Scott, Webster, Forbes; Naismith (Craig 54), Fleck, Little; Lennon, Bagci (Wright 66), Niguez (McCabe 79).
Subs: Smith, McGeough.

CELTIC (4-5-1) Brown; Marr, Lafferty, Misun, Kurakins; McGinn (Towell 88), Ferry, McCourt, Donati (Millar 75), Conroy; Cawley (McGlinchey 69).
Subs: Kennedy, Gallagher, Hughes, Tidser

Celtic reserves...
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CELTIC TO THE EPL - PROS AND CONS

Phil Gartside’s proposed plans for a two-tiered Premier League in England have invoked strong emotions on either side of the fence. The perceived suggestion that both Celtic and arch-rivals Rangers would be involved in these plans has led to a nationwide “pros and cons” debate (or pro et contra, to use the correct Latin derivative.)

A Celtic source said recently: "We're always interested in proposals that could enlarge our revenue base and increase our competitiveness”, yet while Celtic Chief Executive Peter Lawwell himself proclaimed "we don't know the detail, but we'd be obliged to look closer at something like that. We'll see how it develops because these things have happened before and they've not...