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

Motherwell will aim to bounce back from their midweek defeat to Rangers when they welcome Celtic to Fir Park in the Scottish Premiership on Tuesday.

The Steelmen are fourth in the standings with 30 points from 19 league fixtures, while the Bhoys are second in the table with 38 points from 18 matches.

Match preview

Motherwell appointed Jens Berthel Askou as their new permanent manager to lead them into the 2025-26 campaign during the summer, and that decision certainly seems to be paying off for the Steelmen.

After 26 matches at the helm, Askou has overseen 13 wins, nine draws and just four defeats.

The Steelmen started the Scottish Premiership campaign with five straight draws before eventually winning for the first time on matchday six against Aberdeen, but that was quickly followed by back-to-back losses.

However, Motherwell responded superbly by embarking on a 10-game unbeaten run in the league, which was eventually ended by Rangers at the weekend, losing 1-0 to a Thelo Aasgaard goal.

Looking to immediately respond and get back to winning ways, Motherwell will be aiming to claim all three points against Celtic, which would close the gap between the two teams to just five points.

However, Celtic are finally starting to find their feet under new boss Wilfried Nancy, having picked up back-to-back wins following their miserable start to life under the French manager.

After the resignation of Brendan Rodgers in October, Martin O'Neill was appointed on an interim basis, and the veteran boss recorded a fantastic seven wins and just one defeat in eight matches.

Nancy was eventually appointed after a lengthy search for a new permanent manager, but the Frenchman endured a nightmare opening to his Celtic career.

Nancy lost 2-1 to title rivals Hearts in his first match at the helm, followed by defeats to Roma (3-0), St Mirren (3-1) in the Scottish League Cup final and Dundee United (2-1) - becoming the first-ever Celtic boss to lose their first four games.

The new manager finally secured his first triumph over Aberdeen (3-1), which was followed up by a 4-2 victory over Livingston last time out, and both Nancy and the club will be hoping to build on those results with another victory here.

Claiming all three points could be crucial in the ongoing title battle with Hearts, as Celtic now trail the Jambos by just three points, while they also boast a game in hand over the current leaders.

Motherwell Scottish Premiership form:

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Motherwell form (all competitions):

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Celtic Scottish Premiership form:

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Team News

Motherwell are dealing with injuries to Aston Oxborough, Eseosa Sule, Filip Stuparevic, Jordan McGhee, Sam Nicholson and Zach Robinson, while Tawanda Maswanhise is away on international duty.

Following the 1-0 defeat to Rangers, which ended their 10-game Scottish Premiership unbeaten run, Askou may decide to make numerous changes to his starting side.

Stephen O'Donnell, Callum Slattery, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and several others could come into the starting side as a result.

Meanwhile, Celtic are without Alistair Johnston, Callum Osmand, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Jota, Kelechi Iheanacho and Marcelo Saracchi due to injury.

Sebastian Tounekti and Michel-Ange Balikwisha are also unavailable due to their ongoing involvement at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Off the back of recording two straight wins, Nancy is likely to name an unchanged starting team in search of a third consecutive victory on Tuesday, although Kasper Schmeichel could return after missing out last time due to injury.

Motherwell possible starting lineup:

Ward; O'Donnell, McGinn, Welsh, Longelo; Watt, Fadinger; Sparrow, Slattery, Said; Stamatelopoulos

Celtic possible starting lineup:

Schmeichel; Ralston, Trusty, Tierney; Hyun-Jun, Engels, McGregor, McCowan; Nygren, Maeda; Kenny

We say: Motherwell 1-2 Celtic

Motherwell may be enjoying a strong season, but Celtic have already defeated the Steelmen this campaign, while the Bhoys will be significantly boosted by their back-to-back victories.

Alongside Motherwell losing their unbeaten streak at the weekend, we are backing Celtic to compound their misery with an away win.

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