Scottish Premiership action returns this weekend and two of the top six teams will collide as Celtic travel to Fir Park to face Motherwell on Saturday.
The hosts shall be attempting to bounce back from defeat in their most recent outing, while the visitors will have the chance to secure consecutive victories in the league.
Match preview
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Motherwell were left frustrated after their previous match before the international break when they were defeated 2-0 by Hearts, with both goals taking place in the opening 25 minutes.
The Steelmen were unable to force their way back into the fixture, even though they had 20 shots throughout the game.
Graham Alexander's team slipped away from those above them in the league because of the loss, which was only their second of the season in the Scottish Premiership, but they will be keen to start climbing back up the table this weekend.
A win has the chance to raise Motherwell into third place, but they will be wary that a defeat would allow Celtic to leapfrog them and potentially push them down as low as sixth.
The recent loss marked the first time that the Steelmen have not scored in a game this season across all competitions, and with the Hoops being one of the strongest defensive teams in the league, the game will provide a real test to the attackers.
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Motherwell have not fared well in recent times against their opponents, losing three times against them last season, but now would be the perfect time to end that run.
Celtic have been a mixed bag so far in the 2021-22 campaign, and that is why they are in sixth place, having lost three games already in the league, which is only two fewer than they suffered throughout all of last season.
The club have only managed two victories in their previous five matches in all competitions, but one of those did come in their most recent outing against Aberdeen.
It was a crucial three points against a club who were close to them in the league, with Kyogo Furuhashi getting himself on the scoresheet, as Jota finished things off for a 2-1 win.
Offensively, the Hoops remain one of the strongest outfits as nobody has scored more, but they have not managed to secure consecutive wins since August, which will be a cause for concern.
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Team News
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Motherwell will now be without Stephen Lawless, who departed the club during the international break as he terminated his deal.
Alexander could bring Ricki Lamie back into the team on Saturday after he was dropped from the starting lineup in the loss against Hearts, with his defensive experience likely being useful in this particular fixture.
Furuhashi is expected to lead the line for Celtic this weekend after getting on the scoresheet in their most recent game, with the striker returning to his best form.
The Hoops could also be set to welcome Josip Juranovic back into the fold as he is close to being fully fit after recovering from his hamstring injury.
Both James Forrest and Christopher Jullien are also near to returning to the squad as well, although the club will likely want to be careful with the latter due to the fact he has been sidelined since 2020.
Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Kelly; O'Donnell, Ojala, Lamie, McGinley; Grimshaw, O'Hara, Slattery; Van Veen, Woolery, Watt
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; Ralston, Carter-Vickers, Starfelt, Montgomery; Turnbull, Bitton, McGregor; Jota, Abada, Furuhashi
We say: Motherwell 2-1 Celtic
Celtic might have won their most recent outing, but they are a club in very mixed form and because of that, this could prove to be a difficult fixture.
Motherwell are strong in all areas and have a lot of confidence at the moment, and they should have enough quality to bounce back from their recent loss and earn three points.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Celtic win with a probability of 56.64%. A draw had a probability of 23.2% and a win for Motherwell had a probability of 20.15%.
The most likely scoreline for a Celtic win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.47%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.21%) and 1-2 (9.82%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.03%), while for a Motherwell win it was 1-0 (6.2%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 10.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Celtic would win this match.
