Ross County vs Celtic
Time – UK: 3.00 pm, India: 7.30 pm (Saturday)
Venue: Victoria Park, Dingwall
After a 12-day break, the Scottish Premiership will return this weekend, with defending champions Celtic resuming their campaign against Ross County.
Following the suspension of their games against St Mirren and Aberdeen after one of their players, Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo was found guilty of breaching lockdown rules, the Bhoys have regained momentum, winning their last two league matches and will look for more of the same when they take on Stuart Kettlewell’s side.
The Staggies, on the other hand, are in desperate need of points after seeing that early spark fade away. They have lost two and drawn two of their last five games and won’t be heading into Saturday’s game with much confidence, despite playing at home.
Ross County vs Celtic: Recent form
Ross County: L-D-L-D-W
Celtic: W-L-W-W-D
Ross County were unlucky to be narrowly beaten 1-0 by Livingston in their last match on 29th August. Jon Guthrie scored the only goal of the match in the 64th minute after Carl Tremarco was sent off for a second yellow card offence.
Celtic, on the other hand, had no problems in beating Motherwell 3-0 at Paradise a day later. James Forrest, Albian Ajeti, and Christopher Jullien were the goalscorers for the Hoops as they put the disappointment of their Champions League exit behind.
Ross County vs Celtic: Head-to-head record
Total Matches: 24
Ross County wins: 2
Celtic wins: 16
Draws: 6
The last meeting between the two sides in January resulted in a comfortable 3-0 win for Celtic. It was that period of the season when the Bhoys started getting away with the league title, leaving their Glasgow rivals, Rangers well behind.
In fact, Neil Lennon’s side managed to score as many as nine goals (three each) in the three league matches they played over the course of that month.
Callum McGregor opened the scoring from the spot while striker Odsonne Edouard came off the bench to contribute with a brace.
Ross County vs Celtic: Team news
Ross County
Summer signing Carl Tremarco will miss the match after picking up a red card in the last match. Apart from that, there is no fresh injury concerns for Stuart Kettlewell, ahead of the all-important clash against the Scottish Premiership champions.
Following the arrivals of as many as six players in the summer, the manager now has more options to choose from and will try and field the best possible playing eleven for the weekend’s crunch match.
Celtic
The two new arrivals – Shane Duffy and David Turnbull – were involved with their respective national teams during the international break. Therefore, It remains to be seen whether the duo are fit enough to feature for Celtic on Saturday.
There are no fresh injury concerns for the Hoops, but Bolingoli-Mbombo continues to serve his three-match suspension.
Ross County vs Celtic: Predicted line-up
Ross County: Predicted line-up (4-2-3-1): Ross Laidlaw; Connor Randall, Coll Donaldson, Alex Iacovitti, Josh Reid; Ross Draper, Iain Vigurs; Michael Gardyne, Regan Charles-Cook, Ross Stewart; Billy McKay
Celtic: Predicted line-up (4-2-3-1): Vasilis Barkas; Jeremie Frimpong, Christopher Jullien, Shane Duffy, Greg Taylor; Scott Brown, David Turnbull; Ryan Christie, James Forrest, Olivier Ntcham; Odsonne Edouard
Ross County vs Celtic: Where to watch
The match won’t be shown live on Sky Sports but Ross County’s season ticket holders can stream the game live.
Ross County vs Celtic: Prediction
In spite of being at home, Ross County will find it difficult to keep Neil Lennon’s side at bay. Celtic have been rejuvenated by the addition of two new players, and in Shane Duffy, they have that much-needed experience which can go a long way in helping them lift their tenth-successive league title.
Ross County, on the other hand, must have felt that they deserved more from their last match against Livingston and will be looking for a reaction on Saturday. However, the nature of their opponents will make not even the most loyal of Ross County supporters too optimistic.
Ross County vs Celtic final prediction: 0-3
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