Celtic shall be aiming to maintain their place in the top spot of the Scottish Premiership this weekend when they welcome Ross County on Saturday.
However, the visitors shall provide stern competition for the Hoops, heading into the game on the back of three victories in a row.
Match preview
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With just three games to go this season, Celtic are edging closer to getting their hands back on the Scottish Premiership, with the fate of the title very much up to them.
If the Hoops can win all of their remaining fixtures in the league, they will be crowned champions, but with a tough Old Firm derby coming up, there will be no room for error beforehand.
That includes this Saturday, where the squad shall be hoping to continue their unbeaten run at Celtic Park, having gone 14 games without a loss in front of their own fans this season.
Ange Postecoglou's team come into the game in great form, and recently booked their place in the Scottish Cup semi-finals by defeating Dundee United 3-0 with Callum McGregor scoring, and Giorgos Giakoumakis getting himself a brace.
This means the possibility of a treble still remains as the Hoops have already won the Scottish League Cup, but given that they are just three points above Rangers in the league, there is no room for error here.
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Ross County will be aiming to ruin the party on Saturday, as they are enjoying a good run themselves, having won a trio of games heading into this one, providing plenty of confidence.
The previous two matches have seen Ross Laidlaw keep clean sheets as they earned 1-0 wins, showcasing the tight defensive unit that the Staggies boast, and their ability to battle in tight games.
That is what this match is sure to be, but the club have struggled away from home over the course of this season, losing eight times, while only managing to take all three points on four occasions.
That is something Malky Mackay will want to see change in order to prepare for the next campaign, but also to finish as highly as possible in the 2022-23 league table.
However, Ross County will be well aware of the fact that they have been defeated twice by Celtic this season, which they shall be hoping to get revenge on this time around.
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Team News
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Jota was rested during the Scottish Cup quarter-final, but he is somebody that will likely come straight back into the team this weekend, providing his attacking qualities out wide.
Giakoumakis had been brought back into the starting XI for the Hoops, and considering the fact he scored a brace, it might be a tough choice to leave him out now the striker is fully fit again.
David Cancola and Josh Sims will once again be doubts heading into this match after they missed out during the recent Ross County's outing, but after a longer break than Celtic, they might be now up to full speed.
Joseph Hungbo has been in fine form recently, proving to be a real threat in front of goal, and he is likely to find himself on the wing, with Regan Charles-Cook being on the other side.
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; Ralston, Juranovic, Starfelt, Taylor; Bitton, Rogic, McGregor; Jota, Maeda, Giakoumakis
Ross County possible starting lineup:
Laidlaw; Ramsay, Baldwin, Iacovitti, Randall; Tillson, Callachan; Hungbo, Charles-Cook, Paton; White
We say: Celtic 2-0 Ross County
Celtic have been dominant throughout the entire season, especially at home, and even though the visitors are playing well at the moment, it will be a tall task for them.
The Hoops are just three games away from potentially being crowned champions, and they will be keen for this to not be the match that sees them slip up.
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 87.4%. A draw had a probability of 9.1% and a win for Ross County had a probability of 3.48%.
The most likely scoreline for a Celtic win was 3-0 with a probability of 13.57%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (13.25%) and 4-0 (10.42%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (4.33%), while for a Ross County win it was 0-1 (1.41%). The actual scoreline of 4-0 was predicted with a 10.4% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Celtic would win this match.
