Celtic Bhoys & Mother's Sons

Celtic Bhoys & Mother's Sons I
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~


May: Kyogo scores against Motherwell in the 6-0 win the last time these sides met


Celtic Park, Glasgow
Saturday, 1 Octber 2022
15.00 BST

It will be a fired up Celtic Park that awaits the Hoops' return home, when they square of against Motherwell tomorrow and keen to get back into that winning groove.

The Bhoys are set for a very tough schedule of fixtures, with 13 games to play before the enforced World Cup break in November - 3 of which will be against the Steelmen, with this and another League fixture scheduled and the League Cup Quarter Final in between!

So tomorrow is not just about one game, but is important to get back into the winning groove after the St Mirren result and to maintain and even extend the lead at the top of the League, the remainder of the Champions League campaign, and as a marker between these two sides - all of which has to be squeezed into the next 6 weeks!


Joe Hart will be keen to keep a clean sheet this weekend​

There are no shortage of headaches for the manager coming into this fixture as well. Tomorrow's game comes just a couple of days shy of a full month since the Hoops last tasted victory. Obviously there are some extenuating circumstances to put that anomaly into context. ​

On top of which, Celtic have only managed to keep one clean sheet in the past five outings - the aforementioned derby match - and scored just once in the past three games highlights the issues that needed addressing at both ends of the park, during the recent break.

Those difficulties are going to be further challenged, however, by a seemingly mounting list of players in the treatment room, meaning that as many as potentially eight could be missing from this weekend's game is sure to test the squad and the manager.

And that is even before taking into account Motherwell as an opponant.

The Steelmen are looking for their first win in 4 League outings, even if the results are not quite the true reflection of the performances that the visitors have been putting in.

Just the Facts of the Stats​

• Celtic have taken maximum points from every home match against Motherwell since December 2015.
• Home and Away, Celtic have won the last 12 consecutive meetings between these sides.
• The Hoops have been undefeated at home in all domestic competition since January 2021.
  
• Motherwell have not managed to win after conceding the first goal in any Away match in the League since December 2019.
  
• The Lanarkshire outfit are looking for their first League win in 4 games.

Daizen Maeda is expected to miss Saturday's game eith a thigh strain

Team News

The Bhoys could be without as many as eight players for Saturday's match, with Postecoglou confirming he side will be without striker Gorgios Giakoumakis in addition to defenders Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers.

Although, the squad has been bolstered by the return of Josip Juranovic as well as Oliver Abildgaard being ready to potentially make his debut also now that the Danish midfielder is up to speed, however there are still doubts and question marks about the likes of Daizen Maeda and Saed Haksabanovic, while Yosuke Ideguchi, James McCarthy and David Turnbull have all been missing recently also, for either club or country.

Meanwhile, Steven Hammell's side will likely be without Rolando Aarons (hamstring) in addition to the continued absence of Jake Carroll since his knee surgery back in August. However, the prognosis is much better for Joe Efford and Ricki Lamie, who could both feature, while Nathan McGinley is expected to be close to a return.

Referee: John Beaton

This will be Beaton's first time in charge of a Celtic game this season. Overall, the Hoops have won 35 of the 45 games where Beaton has been the referee (the League record is P33 W23 D7 L3) since his Premiership debut in 2012.



~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

Overall
P: 219 W: 130 D: 53 L: 36​

Last 5 Meetings
W W W W W

~~~~ 2022/23 Form ~~~~ ​

Overall
L D L W W ~ L D W L W

SPFL
L W W W W ~ L D L W W​