Aiming to maintain a 100% record during the early stages of their pre-season schedule, Ayr United will welcome Scottish champions Celtic to Somerset Park on Friday night for a friendly fixture.
The Honest Men dispatched Lowland League opposition earlier in the week to continue their warm-up itinerary on a winning note, whilst the Bhoys are only just starting their summer preparations as they gun for domestic and continental glory this season.
Match preview
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Following a 16-month spell at Fleetwood Town of League One in England, Scott Brown's 18th game as manager of Ayr United will arrive on Friday night at Somerset Park, where the 39-year-old will pit his wits against the club for which he played 581 matches across all competitions for during a 14-year stay in Glasgow.
Although much of the narrative will be around his reunion with Celtic, Brown's record since assuming control of the Honest Men must be respected ahead of Friday's kickoff, with the 53-time Scotland international winning seven and drawing three of his 17 fixtures to date with the second-tier outfit.
After finishing second in the 2022-23 campaign and coming extremely close to earning promotion to the Scottish Premiership, Ayr endured a trickier term during 2023-24, placing seventh out of 10 in the Scottish Championship, avoiding the relegation playoff by just two points.
Friday night will see the Honest Men play their third friendly fixture of the summer following their second on Tuesday night, when Brown's boys travelled to the home of Lowland League champions East Kilbride and secured a relatively-comfortable 4-2 success, with the Championship side taking the opportunity to assess a number of trialists.
With the influence of Brown in the dugout and a host of summer signings - including Scott McMann from last season's title-winning Dundee United side - Ayr are expected to be in contention at the summit of the Championship during 2024-25, although a friendly test against Celtic is still likely to prove extremely stern.
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After a four-year stint at Premier League side Leicester City, during which he lifted the FA Cup and Community Shield, Brendan Rodgers has enjoyed a successful year on his return to Parkhead, guiding Celtic to Scottish Cup and Scottish Premiership triumph during the 2023-24 campaign.
With the transfer window wide open, the Bhoys are yet to make a summer acquisition, but they are actively chasing the permanent signatures of players who impressed massively on loan last term, with Norwich City's Adam Idah potentially making the move over the border.
For all the talk of incomings, Celtic will be fighting desperately to keep hold of leading marksman and midfield general Matt O'Riley, who could be set for a record-breaking £20m move to Premier League outfit Southampton after bagging 18 goals and providing 13 assists in the Premiership last campaign.
Although the two-time Denmark international is inevitably viewed as the Bhoys' most valuable asset, the importance of Rodgers in the dugout cannot be underestimated, with the former Liverpool manager winning 35 and losing just eight of his 50 matches in charge since returning to the position in July 2023.
As expected due to the gulf in size between the clubs, Ayr and Celtic have not faced off in a competitive fixture for more than two decades, with their last meeting coming all the way back in the 2001-02 campaign, when the Bhoys smashed the Honest Men 3-0 in a Scottish Cup match.
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After his loan spell from Partick Thistle came to its conclusion, Ayr United are now without the services of 13-goal striker Anton Davis, meaning that more of the attacking emphasis will be put on 23-year-old Mark McKenzie this season.
There are a host of Honest Men who are set to make their Somerset Park debuts on Friday night, including former Coventry City youngster Marco Rus, who spent the final months of last season on loan at Universitatea Cluj in the Romanian top flight.
Despite the United States crashing out of the Copa America at the group stage, Celtic will still be unable to call on centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers, who will now enjoy a belated summer break compared to most of his teammates.
Right-back Alistair Johnston has been considerably more successful at the pan-American competition with Canada, who are into the quarter-finals under the stewardship of former Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch.
Starting all three matches for Scotland at Euro 2024 in Germany, Anthony Ralston is likely to be still on the beach when the Bhoys take to the Somerset Park turf on Friday night.
Ayr United possible starting lineup:
Stone; Stanger, Reading, McMann, Watret; Dempsey, Rus, Henderson; Oakley, Dowds, McKenzie
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Bain; Welsh, Nawrocki, Scales, Lagerbielke; Hatate, Iwata, O'Riley; Kuhn, Maeda, Furuhashi
We say: Ayr United 0-2 Celtic
With two pre-season fixtures already under their belt, Ayr should be the sharper of the two sides and could cause Celtic some problems on Friday night.
That being said, the Bhoys' quality should fire them towards a comfortable success at Somerset Park, even though a number of their international stars remain unavailable.
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Carter White
