With a full capacity crowd of around 60,000 fans expected at Parkhead on Sunday, Celtic will be hoping to reward their patience fans with all three points when they take on newly-promoted Dundee in the Scottish Premiership.
The visitors, meanwhile, will be looking to take advantage of the host's inconsistent run of form and claim their first victory against them since May 2001.
Match preview
© Reuters
After a disastrous four-day period which saw Celtic eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers and lose their opening Premiership match for the first time in 24 years, their fans finally had something to cheer about on Thursday night, as they won 4-2 away at FK Baumit Jablonec in the first leg of their Europa League third-round qualifier.
First-half goals from summer signings Liel Abada and Kyogo Furuhashi were followed by second-half strikes by James Forrest and Ryan Christie, with the latter's goal ensuring the Hoops take a two-goal cushion back to Glasgow for the second leg next week.
Under pressure to deliver immediate success at Parkhead, head coach Ange Postecoglou will be confident that his side can progress to the final playoff round, where they would face AZ Alkmaar. Failing to do so, however, would see them demoted to the inaugural Europa Conference League.
Celtic now briefly turn their attention back to the Premiership, where they suffered a 2-1 defeat to newly-promoted Hearts on the opening weekend.
They face another side, in the form of Dundee on Sunday, who have come up from the Championship and Postecoglou will be keen to get off the mark with a win as Hoops boss, potentially in front of a full capacity crowd at Parkhead.
Celtic are unbeaten in each of their last 36 meetings against the Dark Blues, so they will certainly fancy their chances of claiming all three points this weekend, though improvements in defence are required if they are to build a platform for success.
Including pre-season friendlies, the Hoops have conceded in eight of their nine matches this season, letting in a total of 16 goals. Postecoglou will be hoping that the additions of defender Carl Starfelt and goalkeeper Joe Hart can strengthen their backline going forward.
© Reuters
Dundee managed to secure a point in their first game back in the top-flight, after playing out an entertaining 2-2 draw at home against St Mirren last weekend.
Eamonn Brophy's fourth-minute opener was cancelled out on the stroke of half time when Joe Shaughnessy diverted the ball into his own net. Jamie McGrath then converted from the penalty spot nine minutes after the restart before Dundee scored their second equaliser through substitute Jason Cummings.
Even though the Dark Blues were reduced to 10 men, following Max Anderson's 69th minute red card, the hosts were able to keep St Mirren at bay and hold on for a share of the spoils at Dens Park.
Head coach James McPake was not pleased with the decision to award St Mirren their penalty. Nevertheless, he did not want that talking point to take the shine off his team's performance, with the 37-year-old "extremely proud" of his players for salvaging a draw with 10 men.
McPake is also upbeat ahead of the new campaign, though he will be aware of the challenges they are set to face along the way, with their first real test to come on Sunday against Celtic.
Dundee last beat the Hoops over 20 years ago, winning 2-0 at Parkhead in May 2001, and they have failed to score against them in each of their last seven meetings, conceding 16 goals in the process.
Success this weekend is unlikely for the Dark Blues, but with the hosts enduring an inconsistent run of form and having lost their opening game to a fellow newly-promoted side, a potential upset cannot be ruled out for McPake's men.
- L
- D
- L
- L
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
Team News
© Reuters
English goalkeeper Hart made his debut for Celtic in midweek and the 34-year-old is expected to keep the number one jersey ahead of Vasilis Barkas and Scott Bain, who have failed to hit the heights expected by Hoops fans.
Former Crystal Palace and Everton midfielder James McCarthy was also brought in on the same day as Hart, though the 30-year-old was not involved on Thursday. The Irishman could, however, be in the matchday squad this weekend, competing for a place in the middle of the park alongside Callum McGregor, Ismaila Soro and David Turnbull, who all started in midweek.
New recruit Starleft is set to start again at centre-back alongside Nir Bitton with youngster Dane Murray to provide cover on the bench, while Christopher Jullien continues his recovery from a long-term knee injury. Experienced forward Leigh Griffiths, meanwhile, remains doubtful due to a calf strain.
Striker Odsonne Edouard began Celtic's Europa League qualifier on the bench but is expected to be brought back into the starting lineup ahead of Japanese forward Furuhashi, and the Frenchman could be joined in attack by Abada and Forrest, who both scored in midweek.
As for Dundee, they will be without the suspended Anderson following his dismissal last weekend, which will likely see Shaun Byrne come into the midfield and start alongside 35-year-old Charlie Adam and 18-year-old Finlay Robertson.
McPake will also have to do without striker Danny Mullen, who is set for a spell on the sidelines after coming off in the 17th minute against St Mirren with a fibula injury. Former Rangers loanee Cummings is the most likely candidate to replace him up front.
Defender Liam Fontaine is another ruled out for this weekend, due to a hamstring problem, so Jordan McGhee and Lee Ashcroft are set to partner one another in the heart of the defence, with full-backs Christie Elliott and Jordan Marshall to make up the back four.
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; Ralston, Bitton, Starfelt, Taylor; McGregor, Soro, Turnbull; Abada, Edouard, Forrest
Dundee possible starting lineup:
Legzdins; Elliott, Ashcroft, McGhee, Marshall; Robertson, Byrne, Adam; McMullan, Cummings, McCowan
We say: Celtic 3-1 Dundee
Postecoglou will need time to formulate his strongest starting lineup and for his new signings to gel, if Celtic are to mould into a competitive force for this season.
Defensive frailties are a concern for the Hoops and we fancy Dundee to score on Sunday, however the hosts should have the firepower up front to record their first league victory of the campaign.
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 47.72%. A win for Dundee had a probability of 27.81% and a draw had a probability of 24.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Celtic win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.7%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.43%) and 2-0 (7.93%). The likeliest Dundee win was 0-1 (7.07%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.54%). The actual scoreline of 6-0 was predicted with a 0.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Celtic would win this match.
