Celtic vs Motherwell Match Analysis and Prediction

4 years ago 498

Having already regained the Scottish Premiership title with a game to play, Celtic play host to Motherwell at Celtic Park on Saturday.

However, the visitors make a trip to Glasgow requiring to pick up three points in order to guarantee a fourth-placed finish in the Premiership standings.

Celtic winning the title could been a foregone conclusion for a number of times, but a 4-1 victory over Hearts left just a point required from their closing double-header

Although Ange Postecoglou would have preferred to defeat Dundee United in style, a 1-1 draw did not prevent the celebrations which followed as Celtic went some way to making up for the disappointment of last season.

Despite Rangers having denied them a domestic treble in the Scottish Cup semi-finals, this has been a hugely successful campaign for Celtic, and they now have the Champions League group stages to focus on in September.

Even though they were confirmed as champions, Postecoglou and his side will want to extend their unbeaten run in the league to 32 matches this weekend.

Meanwhile, Motherwell have under-performed for a number of months, leaving Graham Alexander in the race for fourth position over a potential bid for third.

Motherwell are fortunate to still remain in the top six having been on an 11-game winless streak, but they have at least responded with a much stronger end to the campaign.

Wednesday’s 2-1 victory over Hearts made it three wins in six matches, guaranteeing a top-five finish and leaving them another three points from seeing off Dundee United’s challenge for fourth.

That win represented Motherwell’s first record of back-to-back wins in the league since December, and Alexander will hope they can build further momentum ahead of next season with a win being enough to enter the Europa Conference League at the third qualifying round stage.

Celtic vs Motherwell head to head

The two teams have previously met on 104 occasions across all competitions, where Celtic have claimed 73 victories while Motherwell have won 12, and they have drawn in 19. Motherwell have scored 77 goals and conceded 234. In their last meeting in the Scottish Premiership, Celtic claimed a 4-0 away win.

Motherwell 1-4 Celtic 08/11/20

Celtic 2-1 Motherwell 06/02/21

Motherwell 0-2 Celtic 16/10/21

Celtic 1-0 Motherwell 12/12/21

Motherwell 0-4 Celtic 06/02/22

Celtic latest home form

Celtic have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their seven most recent matches. They lost 2-1 to Rangers after extra time in the Scottish Cup on April 17. In their last five matches, they have scored 17 goals and conceded four.

Celtic 4-0 Ross County 19/03/22

Celtic 7-0 St. Johnstone 09/04/22

Celtic 1-2(E) Rangers 17/04/22

Celtic 1-1 Rangers 01/05/22

Celtic 4-1 Hearts 07/05/22

Celtic latest away form

Celtic have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having been unbeaten in their six most recent matches. They played out a 1-1 draw with Dundee United in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 11 goals and conceded three.

Livingston 1-3 Celtic 06/03/22

Dundee United 0-3 Celtic 14/03/22

Rangers 1-2 Celtic 03/04/22

Ross County 0-2 Celtic 24/04/22

Dundee United 1-1 Celtic 11/05/22

Motherwell latest home form

Motherwell have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having won just two of their seven most recent matches. In their last home game, they managed to defeat Hearts 2-1 in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored nine goals and conceded nine.

Motherwell 1-1 Dundee 05/03/22

Motherwell 1-2 Hibernian 13/03/22

Motherwell 4-2 St. Mirren 02/04/22

Motherwell 1-3 Rangers 23/04/22

Motherwell 2-1 Hearts 11/05/22

Motherwell latest away form

Motherwell have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just one of their five most recent matches. They defeated Ross County 1-0 in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored six goals and conceded seven.

Rangers 2-2 Motherwell 27/02/22

St. Johnstone 2-1 Motherwell 19/03/22

Livingston 2-2 Motherwell 09/04/22

Dundee United 1-0 Motherwell 30/04/22

Ross County 0-1 Motherwell 07/05/22

Celtic news

Postecoglou is likely to hand a recall to Kyogo Furuhashi, with David Turnbull and Tom Rogic being options in midfield, while Stephen Welsh may make his 10th start of the season.

Scott Bain could also be provided with a rare game between the sticks in the place of first-choice goalkeeper Joe Hart.

Motherwell news

Head coach Graham Alexander is not likely to deviate from a back three for the trip to Celtic, with Juhani Ojala retaining his spot in the defence.

Kevin van Veen has been impressive in the last two games, but he may have to make do with a place on the substitutes’ bench once again.

Prediction and Odds

Motherwell have failed to defeat their Saturday’s hosts in recent occasions, but will sense an opportunity to post a rare win against Celtic who have already won the title.

However, Celtic are still an in-form side and Postecoglou will want his side to end the campaign in style by claiming yet another win.

Odds: 1 1.60 X 2.00 2 2.50