Preview:Celtic vs Motherwell - prediction, team news, lineups

Two teams aiming to extend their unbeaten starts to the Scottish Premiership will clash on Sunday when Celtic host Motherwell.

The hosts have won four and drawn two of their six league matches, while the visitors have won one and drawn five of their six fixtures.

Match preview

Celtic lifted both the Scottish Premiership and Scottish League Cup in 2024-25, and Brendan Rodgers would have been coming into this campaign aiming to have an equally successful season.

The Bhoys had a difficult summer window that saw the manager and fans calling for increased spending from the board, and that issue has persisted throughout the opening stages of this campaign.

While Celtic remained undefeated in normal time in their first 11 matches of the term, a Champions League exit against Kairat Almaty in the playoff round heightened the frustrations of the fans from the summer.

Fan protests have taken place in previous weeks due to concerns about the running of the club, though further protests have been cancelled after the board agreed to a meeting with the supporters.

Celtic's European disappointment has continued in their opening two Europa League fixtures, being held to a 1-1 draw with Red Star Belgrade before losing 2-0 to Braga last time out.

Outside of European football, the Bhoys remain undefeated in domestic competitions, having recorded four wins and two draws from six Scottish Premiership matches and two wins in the Scottish League Cup, booking their place in the semi-finals.

Now heading into this game sat second in the Scottish Premiership standings, two points behind Hearts, the Bhoys will be aiming to rebound from their defeat to Braga with a win against Motherwell.

The Steelmen have also had an undefeated start to the 2025-26 season, managing six wins and six draws from their 12 fixtures.

Motherwell, under new manager Jens Berthel Askou, have booked their place in the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup, drawn against St Mirren, while they also sit fourth in the league standings.

The Steelmen did draw all of their first five Scottish Premiership matches, but they finally recorded their first win of the league campaign against Aberdeen in their most recent game, with two stoppage time goals securing a dramatic late win.

Looking to secure back-to-back league wins for the first time this season, Motherwell will be aiming for a first victory over Celtic since December 2015.

Celtic Scottish Premiership form:

D W D W W W

Celtic form (all competitions):

L D D W W D

Motherwell Scottish Premiership form:

W D D D D D

Motherwell form (all competitions):

W W D D D W

Team News

Celtic will unable to call upon Alistair Johnston (hamstring) and Jota (cruciate ligament) for this match due to ongoing injury issues.

Kelechi Iheanacho was unfortunate not to score his third Celtic goal in the eventual defeat to Braga, with a controversial VAR call ruling the goal out, and the striker is expected to keep his place as the striker on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Motherwell will be without Filip Stuparevic (cruciate ligament), Sam Nicholson (knee), Tom Sparrow (unspecified), Zach Robinson (Achilles tendon) due to injuries.

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos contributed a goal and assist in Motherwell's dramatic 2-0 win over Aberdeen last time out, and the striker will lead the line on Sunday.

Tawanda Maswanhise and Ibrahim Said should also start in the frontline, while Detlef Esapa Osong may start on the left wing.

Celtic possible starting lineup:

Schmeichel; Ralston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Saracchi; Nygren, McGregor, Hatate; Maeda, Iheanacho, Tounekti

Motherwell possible starting lineup:

Ward; O'Donnell, Gordon, Welsh, Longelo; Fadinger, Watt; Maswanhise, Said, Osong; Stamatelopoulos

We say: Celtic 2-1 Motherwell

Motherwell may be undefeated across all competitions so far, but Celtic have dominated this fixture and are extremely strong when playing at home, leading us to expect a home win.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.