Saturday 15th October 2016
Kickoff: 1500hrs Celtic v Motherwell
Football – Scotland – Premiership
The Scottish Premiership is already looking very much like a one horse race with Celtic holding a four point lead over the chasing pack, and also with a game in hand. Still unbeaten domestically, the Hoops will look to build on their excellent recent form by taking care of Motherwell who occupy sixth spot on goal difference. The two have already clashed at Celtic Park this season when they were paired together in the League Cup back in August. Brendan Rodgers’ team strolled to a 5-0 win.
Celtic went into the international break off the back of a 1-0 victory away to Dundee but the score line was not an accurate reflection of how dominant Celtic were. On that occasion, the current league leaders were unable to convert a host of chances which has been rare for them since Rodgers took over during the summer. Not only are Celtic the top scorers in the Premiership, but they average just under four goals a game and have scored 10 goal more than Hearts who have notched the second most. Bearing in mind that the champions have played that game less then it serves as an illustration of both the attacking philosophy that Rodgers is keen to cement within the club and how clinical their forwards have been. The one blemish on Celtic’s domestic record was the 2-2 draw away to Inverness last month but that was another game in which they created a plethora of chances only to succumb to a last minute equalizer. Celtic have been irresistible at home this season and their last three league games at Celtic Park have resulted in 4-1, 5-1 and 6-1 victories. If they are in a similar sort of mood on Saturday then you would not put it past them continuing that sequence.
Mark McGhee deserves a huge amount of credit for how he turned around Motherwell’s fortunes last season, leading them to a top six finish which looked well beyond them when he took over. At that point, ‘Well were languishing in the bottom two and looking like they would be contenders for another relegation battle having only avoided the drop via the playoffs the previous campaign. McGhee – who is now in his second spell in charge of the club – would have been looking to better the fifth place finish from last term this time around, and will probably be a little disappointed about how the first eight games have went. Despite just clinging on to a top six spot, the Steelman have managed only two victories, and only one since the opening day of the season when they defeated Kilmarnock. The 3-1 loss at home Hearts last time out was a hard one to take as they were the better team in the first half and only went in behind at half-time after an unfortunate deflected goal. McGhee would not have been happy with how his team responded to that in the second half, however, and it brought an end to a run of four games without losing.
Rodgers has indicated that there are doubts over Nir Bitton and Thomas Rogic ahead of Saturday’s game, and with a crunch Champions League fixture against Borussia Moenchengladbach to come on Wednesday, it’s unlikely that either of them will be risked. Rogic, particularly, could be doing with a rest having played twice for Australia in the past week. The Aussie has been instrumental in Celtic’s attack this term but his likely absence would see the manager opt to use Leigh Griffiths up alongside Moussa Dembele. It’s usually one or the other but this type of match could be the perfect chance for a slight change of formation. Griffiths will be desperate to get back into the team having had to miss a few games because of injury and the form of Dembele. The two have scored 20 goals between them and could form a devastating partnership if given the chance. Dembele also scored twice when Celtic put five past ‘Well in August.
Whilst it’s usually players that are off representing their country during the international break, McGhee was also off on national duty due to being Scotland’s assistant manager. Needless to say, after two bitterly disappointing results against Lithuania and Slovakia, he will be glad to get back to his substantive post. As well as the heavy league cup defeat, Motherwell have also suffered heartache at the other side of Glasgow this season when going down 2-1 to Rangers at Ibrox after leading for the majority of that match. That remains their only away defeat in the league thus far having also drawn with Ross County and Partick Thistle, but it’s fair to say they face a much stiffer challenge on Saturday in the east end of Glasgow.
Celtic v Motherwell Betting Tips
Celtic Park has been anything but a lucky hunting ground for Motherwell, particularly recently having shipped 12 on their last two visits. They did, however, record a rare success (first win since 2008) when running out 2-1 victors just before Christmas last season but they will be under no illusions of the task they face against this Celtic team.
Even with the Champions League on the horizon, Celtic are fully aware that they have a league to win and will be looking for a similar result to the one they gained before the Manchester City match three weeks ago, when dismantling Kilmarnock 6-1. Whilst it is difficult to reach those heights every week, the attacking threat in this team is such that they do not need to create a host of chances to score four or five. I have to say, I fear for Motherwell tomorrow, particularly in the centre of defence where they lack mobility, and that was evident against Hearts when Tony Watt was a real threat throughout. Dembele’s ability to torment defenders has led to him being named Player of the Month for September and he’s going to be a massive influence once again. Six of Celtic’s nine home games this season have had four or more goals scored and that’s a trend that can continue on Saturday.
Over 3.5 goals 31/40 @ Betvictor
