Celtic hold the comfortable lead going into the weekend Scottish Premiership draw against Motherwell at Fir Park.
Ten-man Celtic extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership after coming from behind twice to beat rivals Rangers 3-2 in a thrilling encounter at Ibrox last weekend.
Rangers took an early lead through Josh Windass but Celtic responded quickly through Tom Rogic’s brilliant strike.
The hosts restored their advantage when Daniel Candeias met Declan John’s cross but they were pegged back on the stroke of half-time when Moussa Dembele hooked in from Scott Brown’s long ball.
Celtic were reduced to 10 men when Jozo Simunovic was shown a straight red card for an apparent elbow on Alfredo Morelos, but substitute Odsonne Edouard curled home a brilliant winner as Brendan Rodgers’ side moved nine points clear at the summit.
Celtics recorded their 4th successive win over their local rivals which was more than a formality this time. They are well poised to confirm their 7th consecutive league title by taking on a 7th placed Motherwell side.
Rodger’s showered praise over his players in the press conference after the previous fixture. He said, “Our ambition is to win the league and win it the best way we possibly can. Our focus is just to win the next game. It’ll be another very tough game. The encounters this season with Motherwell have all been like that. It’s been a while since we played them after the run of three games.”
Here is how the Celtic team might lineup on matchday.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Defence
Dorus De Vries is expected to make a return to the lineup by featuring in the starting XI.
He should find himself behind the centre-half pairing of Kristoffer Ajer and Jack Hendry. The duo was impressive in the last fixture even after the dismissal of Jozo Simunovic.
Kieran Tierney might provide cover from the left with Dedryck Boyata fielded on the right.
Midfield
Man Of The Match in the last game – Scott Brown has been the rock of the Celtic midfield this season. His appearance is crucial alongside the young Olivier Ntcham.
Charly Musonda is expected to mark his return to the starting lineup by replacing Callum McGregor on the left. Tom Rogic should find himself in the attacking midfield role with James Forrest providing width from the right.
Attack
Moussa Dembele will look to improve upon his goal tally of 7 by taking up the number nine role.
