Hoops Head Home For United Clash
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~


Reo Hatate's 30 yard thunderbolt set the Hoops on the way to victory in midweek


Celtic Park, Glasgow
Wednesday, 29 January 2022
15.00 GMT​

Celtic return to Paradise this weekend, preparing for the visit of Dundee United, and looking to secure another win, not only to keep the pressure up at the top of the table, but to provide the perfect platform and ensure going into the derby game in midweek, riding high in form and confidence.

After a very testing encounter - especially in the second half - with Hearts in midweek, there is no let up as the fixtures keep coming, thick and fast, and while it may be tempting to look ahead to next week, no doubt Ange Postecoglou will be working hard to ensure that everyone remains focused on this United match first, as the three points on offer are every bit as valuable in maintainig the league title challenge.

And there is no better motivation than to simply look back at the last time that United visited Celtic Park earlier this season, where the match ended in stalemate and both sides having to settle for a share of the spoils. So it is imperative that the Celts are 100% focused on getting the job done tomorrow.

Remembering Wim Jansen

Amid all of this, tomorrow will be tinged with a degree of sadness, as former Celtic manager Wim Jansen will be laid to rest in his native Netherlands, after he passed away on Tuesday morning, aged 75.

The Dutchman had a remarkable playing career for both club and country, in a packed with so many highlights, including winning the European Cup and UEFA Cup, five Eredivisie titles - 4 with his beloved Feyenoord - and his International career was every bit as impressive, reaching the World Cup Final in both 1974 & 1978, and reaching the Semi-Final of the 1976 European Championships in between, before going into management and ultimately leading Feyenoord to back to back Dutch Cup triumphs in the early 90's.

His contribution to Celtic may have only been for that one 1997/98 season, but it was a truly remarkable tenure, as he guided the Bhoys to a League and League Cup double, providing silverware in a decade where precious little found it's way to the East End of Glasgow. While Jansen was often at odds with General Manager Jock Brown and Club Chairman, Fergus McCann, he will always be remembered bringing to the club a number of key signings, including the likes of Champions League winner, Paul Lambert, and a certain dreadlocked Swede by the name of Larsson.

Jansen's crowning achievement however, is in leading the Hoops to 'stopping the 10' on that dramatic final day of the league campaign - not only preserving Jock Stein's 9IAR legacy, but was against virtually all the odds when the Dutchman first arrived in the summer of 1997 - ironically having left a management job in Japan prior to coming to Celtic, as the current manager has.

Naturally the club and supporters will be paying tribute in celebrating the Dutchman's life and achievements, with an opportunity to reflect and share memories at the match tomorrow.

Rest in Peace, Wim. You'll Never Walk Alone.


Wim Jensen with the League & League Cup trophys from his one season as Celtic boss​

This is just the second home game that Celtic will have played since early December, and it will be good to be back at Parkhead and in familiar surroundings, as the Bhoys go in hunt of a seventh consecutive win at home, providing the perfect preparation for the derby game next week.

Dundee United, for their part, hope to have turned the corner in their own fortunes, after a come from behind win over Ross County in midweek. It was just their second league win in 12 games, and builds on the win over Kilmarnock in the Cup last weekend, so the Tangerines will be hoping that thet can build on that, and put behind them what has been a pretty lacklustre spell for Tam Courts and his men.

The last time the sides met ended in a comfortable 3-0 win for the Hoops at Tannadice, inspired by a Tom Rogic special - a sensational solo effort which will be difficult to beat as a Goal of the Season contender.

Ange Postecoglou will have to do without Rogic's services tomorrow however, as his compatriot is currently involved in World Cup Qualifying for Australia, just as Diazen Maeda is, for Japan.


Wizard of Oz: Rogic's sensational goal inspired the 3-0 win the last time these sides met

Fast & Slow Starts

Statistics can often be misleading, but there are some things that cannot be argued.

One such analysis is in regards to the first 30 minutes of play and the trends of these sides.

Celtic have been blistering off the mark this season in the league, with 21 goals scored and just 4 conceded during this early phase of the game. This is by far the best record of any team in the division.​

By contrast, the Terrors' have scored just 1 goal in the first half an hour of play, while conceding 8 - which is by far the worst record of any team in the Premiership. Indeed, they have not scored a single goal in the first 15 minutes of any league game this season.

Ironically, the only time the Tangerines have managed to net within the first half hour of play, was back in September on their last visit to Parkhead, which finished 1-1.

Obviously, these statistics don't tell the full story, as there is still a full hour (plus stoppages) of play, but it does highlight a big difference. It should be noted that United have a break even record of 18 scored and 18 conceded after the 30min mark, while Celtic are 25-9.​

Giorgos Giakoumakis' goal proved to be the difference in the win over Hearts

Team News

In addition to missing Tom Rogic and Daizen Maeda through International duty, the Bhoys will also continue to be without Japanese duo Kyogo Furuhashi (hamstring) and Yosuke Ideguchi (ankle), Albian Ajeti (hamstring) and skipper Callum McGregor (face), while David Turnbull and Christopher Julien near a return to action - the latter having been an unused sub in the past two matches since returning from over a year out with knee trouble.

However, this has opened the door for some players to press their own claims, such as Greek striker Giorgos Giakoumakis, who will be looking to add to the goals scored in each of the past two games, James Forrest and Jota from injury lay offs and the addition of new signings Matt O'Riley, who made his debut at Tynecastle in midweek and Reo Hatate, who picked up from where he left off, with his man of the match debut performance against Hibs being capped by a stunning 30 yard strike on Wednesday.​

As for the visiting United side, they will be without midfielder Jeando Fuchs, who appears to be on the cusp of a switch to English Championship side, Peterborough, while it is touch-and-go whether former Celt, Charlie Mulgrew will be able to take his place in the side, as he has been struggling with a calf strain.



~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

Overall
P: 215 W: 126 D: 53 L: 36​

Last 5 Meetings
W D D W W

Home v DUT
W D W W W

~~~~ 2021/22 Form ~~~~ ​

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

SPFL
W W W D W ~ W L L L L

CEL Home ~ DUT Away
W W W W W ~ W L L D L​