Motherwell face up to a third meeting with Celtic in the space of a week following Sunday’s Betfred Cup final and Wednesday night’s dramatic 1-1 draw.
And following further controversy surrounding penalty decisions, Saturday’s trip to Celtic Park presents a third bite at Brendan Rodgers side.
The Fir Park men will be hungry to go one step further, having come just minutes away from ending the Glaswegians long unbeaten run, only to be cruelly denied by a soft penalty decision by referee Willie Collum.
With Parkhead the setting for the third and final head-to-head clash between the sides this year, all eyes will be on what will inevitably be a heated encounter.
And manager Stephen Robinson has called for attention to turn to football as his side prepare for a third clash with Celtic in six days amid a lot of on and off-field talking points
Robinson, who expressed his pride for his team following Wednesday’s 1-1 draw, is keen to get back to business on Saturday.
Speaking to the broadcast press this morning, the Northern Irishman addressed a number of talking points from the previous two encounters, but called for more people to talk about the hard-work of his team.
He said: “Let’s talk about how good a player Scott Brown is, and Chris Cadden and Allan Campbell and people like that.
“Nobodies spoke about Motherwell, instead it’s rivalries, but nobodies actually said that we had seven clean sheets last season and we’ve got nine already.
“We’ve won fourteen games already and we only won thirteen last season, we’ve taken four points off Aberdeen and Celtic in our last two games – we took none at all last season.”
[pullquote]We’ve won fourteen games already and we only won thirteen last season, we’ve taken four points off Aberdeen and Celtic in our last two games – we took none at all last season.[/pullquote]
Robinson will have a full-strength squad to pick from tomorrow – but admits he will have another selection headache on his hands.
Allan Campbell, one of three changes Robinson made from the cup final side to Wednesday night, is an example of the options the manager has to ponder.
And the young midfielder is hungry to get back to action too.
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s meeting with Celtic in Glasgow, the young Steelman is aiming to do all of his talking on the park and insists that him and his teammates will approach every game in the same manner.
With confidence high around Fir Park, Campbell believes ‘Well can go to Parkhead and end Celtic’s unbeaten run.
He said: “We approach every game just the same, we go out every week and try and win the game and I think tomorrow is going to be the same.
“We’ll prepare right today, train well, have a meeting with the gaffer, see what we can improve on and just prepare for the game as usual.”
He added: “We just need to go and do our talking on the park and hopefully prove tomorrow that we’re going to win the game and get stuck in about it just the same.”
With Brendan Rodgers side hungry to extend their incredible run, it makes for an interesting encounter in Glasgow.
The Celtic manager could be without the injured Moussa Dembele and Nir Bitton, whilst Patrick Roberts may be doubtful after he left the park early on Wednesday night.
Please note, this is a ticket-only fixture – no cash turnstiles will be in operation.
Admission prices are as follows:
ADULTS | £27/£24 |
CONCESSION | £17/£14 |
UNDER 13 | £10/£7 |
- Cheaper price is for restricted view seats. Once full view allocation has been sold, restricted view tickets will be available.
- Concessions are listed as over 65s and under 16s
- Please note, all under 13s attending the match must be accompanied by an adult
- Please note that there are no remaining spaces for ambulant or wheelchair access in the Celtic end. These are sold out.
- Motherwell fans who require ambulant or wheelchair access should contact Brian Davidson on 07725 917161
If you can’t make it tomorrow, don’t miss the action by tuning in to mixlr.com/motherwellfc for live commentary or follow the match on Twitter @MotherwellFC
You can see the match highlights on MFC TV’s YouTube channel, as well as full reaction and a match report right here on the official website.