Celts Have Staggies in Their Sights

Celts Have Staggies in Their Sights
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~


Alistair Johnston scored one and assisted the other when Celtic bear County, 2-1 in October

Celtic Park, Glasgow
Saturday, 30 November 2024
15.00 GMT

Celtic host the visit of Ross County as focus turns back to the Premiership, this weekend.

After the 1-1 draw with Club Brugge in midweek, naturally there is the need to reflect on what might have been. After being outplayed for much of the first half, including gifting the Belgian champions the lead, the Bhoys came out after the interval far more organised and were able to take more control of proceedings.

It is a trend that was also evident against Hearts, last weekend.

Now though, attention must be turned to the next challenge facing the Hoops, and the visit of the Highlanders to Parkhead tomorrow.

County this season have continued where they left off last season under the guidance of manager Don Cowie - to be steadily impressive when at home in Dingwall, with just Aberdeen and Celtic having departed with all 3 points.

By contrast, the Stsggies have not secured a single League win on their travels in over a year. While some may look at that statistic in isolation and think that Celtic should win comfortably, there is a caveat to that. That is to say that County do not make life easy for anyone, evidenced by the fact that no team has recorded more draws than them - including 4 on the road.

While no doubt the Highlanders will be hungry for a win, there can be no complacency from the Bhoys, to avoid dropping any points, as that is what the visitors will be hoping for and they cannot be underestimated.

This weekend’s match with County could be coming at an ideal time for Brendan Rodgers to freshen things up and make 2 or 3 alterations to the starting XI, while maintaining the form and intensity that has characterised the season so far, as the Bhoys seek to maintain - if not extend - the current 2 point advantage over nearest rivals, Aberdeen, at the top of the Premiership table.


Brendan Rodgers has a personal record of 9 wins and 1 draw against Ross County

Stats and Facts

• Celtic are undefeated at home across all competitions since December 2023.​
• The Hoops have won all of the last 12 consecutive meetings (11 League & 1 League Cup) against the​
• It has been over a year since County last won a Premiership match away from Dingwall (2 September 2023).​
• No team has drawn more in the Premiership this season than the Staggies (6), including 4 away from home.​

Daizen Maeda celebrates after scoring the equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Club Brugge on Wednesday

Team News

Brendan Rodgers is expected to have close to a full squad to choose from, aside from the continued absence of Odin Thiago Holm (calf), although the manager may elect to take the opportunity to rotate two or three of the starting line up, considering the heavy fixture list that the Bhoys are facing over the next 6 weeks.​

As for the visitors, George Harmon and Kacper Lopata are doubts after the pair were forced off with knocks in last weekend’s win against Motherwell, and are likely to join Will Nightingale and Max Sheaf watching on from the side.

Referee: Calum Scott

Despite Scott having made his Premiership debut just over 12 months ago, this will be the first time in charge of a game involving Celtic at this level - his only previous being the 5-2 League Cup Quarter-Final win v Falkirk, in September.

Celtic Overall Record
M:1 W:1 D:0 L:0

VAR: Greg Aitken

​

~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

Overall
P: 43 W: 32 D: 6 L: 5​

Last 5 Meetings
W W W W W​

~~~~ 2024/25 Form ~~~~

All Comps
D W W W W ~ W L D D W

SPFL
W W W W D ~ W L D D W​