New league leaders Celtic will be hoping to maintain their position on top with another victory on Sunday when they travel to Fir Park as they face Motherwell.
The Steelmen are yet to win a league game since their return from the winter break, and a defeat could see them drop out of the top four depending on other results.
Match preview
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Motherwell's frustrating start to 2022 continued in midweek when they were held to their sixth draw of the season by St Mirren, but the result did end up feeling like a victory due to the manner of it.
After conceding in the 80th minute to the Buddies, Graham Alexander's men showed their fighting spirit as a 91st-minute goal from Ross Tierney ensured they would take a point as the game finished 1-1.
It was not the result that they were looking for, but it stopped consecutive losses from taking place, which is a positive that the Steelmen will have to take away from the match.
Goals have been hard to come by for the team as of late, only finding the back of the net once in their previous three encounters, and that is something that they will be hoping to fix this Sunday.
However, both times they have met Celtic this season, Motherwell have failed to score a goal as they suffered defeats on each occasion, which could make this a tricky test.
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That is especially true since the Hoops are heading into this match with even more confidence than ever as they now sit top of the Scottish Premiership after displacing Rangers.
Celtic have been working tirelessly to get back to that position, and it was an emphatic Old Firm derby victory that made it happen, with an exceptional first-half performance from the squad.
Ange Postecoglou's men were dominant on Tuesday night, with a brace from Reo Hatate and a goal by Liel Abada wrapping up the game before the whistle was even blown for the break.
It continued the fantastic run that the Hoops are on right now, with the squad currently undefeated in 14 matches across all competitions, and they shall be attempting to make that 15 on Sunday.
Celtic have been dominant throughout their performances as of late, with no team scoring more or conceding fewer in the Scottish Premiership so far this season.
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Team News
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Liam Donnelly was brought back into the starting lineup immediately in midweek after serving his suspension, and he will likely maintain his place in the central-midfield role.
Bevis Mugabi also returned to the team against St Mirren, but a debut for Joe Efford still awaits after he was an unused substitute in that match, while Barry Maguire is out injured this weekend.
Celtic will still be without Kyogo Furuhashi due to his hamstring injury, while Yosuke Ideguchi is also on the sidelines at the moment, which is also the case for David Turnbull.
However, the Hoops did welcome back Callum McGregor to the midfield in the Old Firm derby following a spell on the sidelines due to a facial injury, and he should retain his place in what could be an unchanged XI.
Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Kelly; Mugabi, Johansen, Carroll; McGinley, Shaw, Donnelly, O'Donnell; Slattery, Goss; Van Veen
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; Juranovic; Carter-Vikers, Starfelt, Taylor; O'Riley, McGregor, Hatate; Abada, Jota, Giakoumakis
We say: Motherwell 0-2 Celtic
On paper, this seems like a routine fixture for the league leaders, and that is what they will be hoping transpires against a team out of form and struggling for goals.
Considering the manner in which Celtic played in midweek, they should have more than enough to maintain their lead at the top of the division with another victory.
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 66.39%. A draw had a probability of 19.8% and a win for Motherwell had a probability of 13.83%.
The most likely scoreline for a Celtic win was 0-2 with a probability of 11.84%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (11.4%) and 1-2 (9.77%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.41%), while for a Motherwell win it was 1-0 (4.53%). The actual scoreline of 0-4 was predicted with a 4.3% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Celtic would win this match.
