Motherwell head into their Scottish Premiership encounter with Celtic on Sunday looking to win their third league match in a row.
Meanwhile, the Hoops make the trip to Fir Park on the back of only one win from their last six matches in all competitions.
Match preview
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Thursday evening was a night to forget for Celtic as the Hoops were defeated 4-1 at home by Czechia outfit Sparta Prague in the Europa League.
Celtic sit bottom of Group H after picking up just one point from a possible nine and remain five points behind AC Milan, who now sit in second place.
Defeat to Sparta Prague was the first time in 30 years since the Hoops last lost three matches in a row at Celtic Park, an unwanted record for Neil Lennon's side.
The Celtic boss bemoaned his side's poor performance and suggested that there may have to be a culture change at the club after stating that a "lack of hunger was really apparent" from his players.
Lennon admitted that he 'needs a win' at Motherwell if the Hoops are to turn their poor run of form around, and although they have only lost one of their last 21 league fixtures – winning 17 and drawing the other three – Celtic are winless in their last two. They have not failed to win three consecutive league games since November 2012, another record that the Hoops will want to avoid.
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Unlike Celtic, Motherwell seemed to have turned a corner after a run of good results in the Scottish Premiership has seen Steve Robinson's side climb the table.
After failing to win any of their opening six Scottish Premiership matches, the Steelmen have since won four of their last five league games, most recently cruising to a 4-0 victory over Ross County before winning 2-0 away at Livingston last weekend.
The form of strikers Tony Watt and Callum Lang has contributed to Motherwell's recent success, with the pair each scoring two goals in their last two games.
With the Steelmen in a rich vein of form, they will be hoping that they can finally end their dreadful record against the visitors, as Motherwell are winless in 15 league matches against Celtic – losing each of the last six games.
A victory for Robinson's men on Sunday could see Motherwell climb to fifth in the Scottish Premiership table and win their third league match in a row for the first time since December 2019.
Motherwell Scottish Premiership form: LWWLWW
Motherwell form (all competitions): WWLLWW
Celtic Scottish Premiership form: WWWWLD
Celtic form (all competitions): LLDDWL
Team News
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Motherwell announced this week that they hope to have goalkeeper Trevor Carson back as soon as January after declaring the 32-year-old's knee surgery a success.
Defender Liam Donnelly (knee) and midfielder Bevis Mugabi (shoulder) remain out with injuries.
Defensive midfielder Mark O'Hara may keep his place in the side at centre-back if defender Ricki Lamie is not fit to feature.
Celtic defender Kristoffer Ajer remains out with a groin strain, while James Forrest is also unavailable until mid-December with an ankle injury.
Christopher Jullien is closing in on a return to training after suffering with a back problem and the Hoops hope to have him back after the international break.
Mikey Johnston, who has been suffering with a knee injury, is back in training but is unlikely to feature on Sunday.
Left-back Diego Laxalt, who has started the last six games in a row and who has impressed many Celtic fans since joining on loan from AC Milan this summer, is likely to remain in the side ahead of Greg Taylor.
Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Chapman; O'Donnell, Gallagher, O'Hara, McGinley; Campbell, Maguire, Polworth; Cole, Watt, Long
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Bain; Welsh, Duffy, Bitton; Frimpong, Brown, McGregor, Ntcham, Laxalt; Ajeti, Edouard
We say: Motherwell 1-2 Celtic
Despite Motherwell finding their form in the league, Celtic have a good record against the Steelmen, picking up points in all of their last 11 away league matches at Fir Park – winning seven and drawing the other four – and should find a way to secure a narrow victory on their travels.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data
Oliver Thomas
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 60.62%. A draw had a probability of 21.4% and a win for Motherwell had a probability of 17.97%.
The most likely scoreline for a Celtic win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.46%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.28%) and 1-2 (9.95%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.12%), while for a Motherwell win it was 1-0 (5.15%). The actual scoreline of 1-4 was predicted with a 3.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Celtic would win this match.
