Celts Seek Success in Ipox Battle
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~
Cameron Carter-Vickers' presence at the heart of the defence will be critical for Celtic on Sunday
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Ipox Stadium, Glasgow
Saturday, 7 April 2024
12.00 BST
The Hoops have the opportunity to go 4 points clear at the top of the table with victory at Ipox over their city rivals in the third Glasgow derby of the season, this weekend.
It has been a bumpy campaign for the Bhoys, which has made the title race a lot closer than most would've anticipated. And while Celtic currently hold a slender lead going into this clash, the Govan side have a game in hand that cannot be entirely ignored, with just a handful of games remaining.
The Hoops have won both of the previous derby encounters so far this campaign, further exhancing Brendan Rodgers's impressive record in this particular fixture, and will be looking to extend that even more, this weekend.
The Bhoys are coning off a comfortable 3-0 win over Livingston last week. And while on paper it was a result most would have anticipated given the struggles of the West Lothian side this season, it was notable for a number of reasons that could prove important moving forward.
Firstly, although Livingston did well to keep the Celts at bay in the first half, Celtic were able to significantly up the game after the break, proving utterly dominant in creating plenty of chances as well as producing three quality goals.
Kyogo has scored 7 goals in his last 7 appearances against the Ipox club across all competitions
Secondly, that was just the the Bhoys' 2nd clean sheet overall (and first in the league) since the end of January. The return of Cameron Carter-Vickers will no doubt be of great importance in the title run-in, in shoring up what has been a leaky defence.
Thirdly, that was just the second time this season that the Bhoys had managed to win at least 3 games on the trot this season. There was a similiar run (extending to 6 games) from mid-December through to January.
As fortune would have it, both streaks began following a 2-0 defeat by Hearts, and the Hoops will be hoping to extend this current run form for the rest of the season.
All of that, however, could count for little if they slip up on Sunday.
It is not an easy task - it rarely ever has been - but should Brendan Rodgers successfully prepare his side and oversee his side record another victory, it could prove to be one of the most important and definitive of his entire managerial career.
The Hoops will be up against an Ipox side that have managed to significantly narrow the gap since Phillippe Clement took over. the hosts have produced a level of consistent results in that time, having lost just twice in the League since his arrival - once to Celtic, back in December and again against Motherwell, last month.
Interestingly, despite the host's boasting the best defensive record in the Premiership, of the 17 goals that they have conceded, a majority (12) of which have been at Ipox - and 8 of those have come in the first half of games.
That may simply be a curious statistic in and of itself, however, noone can dismiss the significance of the match itself, and if the Hoops can crack a third derby win of the season, it will go a long way to setting up the Bhoys for the rest of the Premiership title race.
Matt O'Riley has already rattled up a tally of 12 goals & 14 assists in the league this season
And while Celtic have at times proved to be fgrustratingly inconsistent, it could at least in part be attributed to being without a number of key players for large sections of the season, but hopefully the worst of that is past now.
By the Numbers
- Brendan Rodgers has an impressive record in this fixture, having won 12 of the 15 derbies in total, including both previous encounters this season. (P15 W12 D2 L1)
- Sevco have a perferct record in league games this season when they have scored first, winning all 21 times.
- The hosts have had just 1 penalty awarded against them in the past 85 league games at Ipox since September 2019.
Callum McGregor faces a late fitness test to determine if he will be available for Sunday
Team News
There are a few questions for the manager ahead of this weekend's game, and the return to action for Reo Hatate, Maik Nawrocki and Yang Hyun-jun last weekend has helped bouy the Hoops' successful title defence aspirations.
And the cause could be further aided by the return to fitness of winger Luis Palma, while Callum McGregor has returned to training, but will likely require a late fitness assessment before a final decision is made on the skipper's availability for this game.
As for the hosts, Abdallah Sima is once again available, while Ridvan Yilmaz and Dujon Sterling have both also recently returned to training, however Danilo, Ryan Jack and Oscar Cortes remain out.
Referee: John Beaton
The appointment of Beaton has raised more than few eyebrows, given his contentious VAR judgements during Celtic's 2-0 loss to Hearts last month were questioned by many in the media and raised the ire of Brendan Rodgers, which lead to the Hoops' boss serving a 1 match ban, last week.
It should be noted that Celtic have not won any of the past 3 games when Beaton has taken charge of this fixture, with the only victory being the 5-1 game, in April 2017.
Overall Record
M:53 W:40 D:10 L:3
Record in this fixture
P:4 W:1 D:1 L:2
VAR: Nick Walsh
~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~
Overall
P: 38 W: 22 D: 6 L: 10
Last 5 Meetings
W W L W W
~~~~ 2022/23 Form ~~~~
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All Comps
W W W L W ~ W L W D L
SPFL
W W L W W ~ W L W W W
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Celts Seek Success in Ipox Battle
Discussion in 'TalkCeltic News' started by Taz, Apr 5, 2024.