Celtic to take on Motherwell in Second Match of SPL Season

Celtic travel to Fir Park to take on Motherwell in matchday two of the new season.

Celtic make the short trip to Lanarkshire as they face Motherwell in an early kick-off on Saturday.

While Celtic have been contending themselves with Champions League qualification, Motherwell have been in early season competitive matches as well. They comfortably made it through the group stage of their Betfred Cup section.

There were plenty of goals as they won both games at Fir Park 4-0 against Morton and Annan. On the road they beat Queen of the South 3-0 and Dumbarton 2-0. The goals dried up on their opening game of the league campaign however when they travelled along the M8 to Livingston, as the game finished 0-0.

The goals for The Steelmen have been shared about, however, defender Liam Donnelly has enjoyed a great goal scoring start with five thus far.

Jake Carroll misses out for Motherwell after he was handed a two-match ban after a bad tackle in the closing stages of the Livingston match. David Turnbull, who it seemed would be appearing in the hoops this season before failing medical, misses out as he recovers from his operation.

Celtic go into the match having enjoyed another good result in Europe. The 1-1 draw in Romania against CFR Cluj although not pretty at times, especially the second half, is the sort of game where Celtic might have come home with a defeat in the past. Celtic should go on to beat CFR Cluj at Celtic Park next week fairly comfortably.

The biggest downside going into this game is the news that Kieran Tierney has now joined English giants Arsenal for £25 million. Bolingoli will have to improve if he is to remain the first choice left back for the season ahead. Although it is likely Celtic will strengthen that position before the transfer window closes.

It’s always hard seeing a good player leave the club, when it is one of us, a fan as Tierney is, some may find it hard to believe that a fan would leave before 10-in-a-row. I will not begrudge him his move, in the past three years he has served us well, does he leave as a legend? Not for me, good player yes, but legend, no.

The match on Saturday should be a good game, both teams go into it in good form and confidence will be high between both teams.

Prediction: Motherwell 1-3 Celtic.