Celtic will be looking to stay within touching distance of Scottish Premiership leaders Rangers by claiming all three points at home against Dundee United on Saturday afternoon.
The Tangerines, meanwhile, will be hoping to secure at least another point at Parkhead, having already drawn 1-1 with the Hoops earlier this season.
Match preview
© Reuters
Celtic extended their unbeaten run to 12 matches across all competitions when they beat Hearts 2-1 at Tynecastle on Wednesday night.
January signing Reo Hatate opened the scoring with his first goal for the Hoops, before Giorgos Giakoumakis doubled the visitors' lead 10 minutes before half time. Liam Boyce gave Hearts hope of a comeback when he pulled one back in the 62nd minute, but Celtic managed to hold on for all three points.
As Glasgow rivals Rangers also won in midweek, Ange Postecoglou's men remain four points off the summit, though that gap could soon change when the Old Firm do battle at Parkhead at the beginning of next month.
Spirits are high in the Celtic camp at present as they head into Saturday's contest unbeaten in their last 16 home matches in the top flight.
The Hoops have also won eight and drawn two of their last 10 encounters with Dundee United, last suffering defeat back in December 2014 under former boss Ronny Deila.
© Reuters
Dundee United ended a six-game losing streak in the Scottish Premiership when they came from behind to beat Ross County 2-1 on home soil in midweek.
Regan Charles-Cook gave the visitors the lead eight minutes after the break; however, a brace from Nicky Clark, including a dramatic 91st-minute winner, helped the Tangerines claim all three points for the first time since mid-November.
Tam Courts's side remain seventh in the top-flight table, 11 points clear of the bottom two and only four points behind Motherwell in fourth.
Dundee United drew their last meeting with Celtic at Parkhead, securing a hard-fought 1-1 draw in September with Ian Harkes finding the net for the visitors.
With one eye on the Dundee derby next week, the Tangerines will be keen to keep their spirits high by claiming another positive result on Saturday.
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- L
- L
- L
- L
- W
- L
- L
- L
- L
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Celtic captain Callum McGregor remains doubtful after suffering a facial injury in the Scottish Cup victory over Alloa Athletic last weekend, which forced him to miss Wednesday's win over Hearts.
January signing Matt O'Riley, who provided an assist on his debut for Celtic's second goal, will be in contention to start again in midfield alongside Hatete and Nir Bitton, though the likes of James McCarthy and Ismaila Soro will also be pushing to start.
After being named on the substitutes' bench for the last two matches, Postecoglou could hand Christopher Julien his first appearance since December 2020 as the centre-back has recovered from a long-term knee injury.
As for Dundee United, Courts is expected to recall Clark to his starting lineup after the forward's brace in midweek, with Peter Pawlett either dropping to the bench or moving into a deeper midfield role as a result.
With Charlie Mulgrew ruled out with an injury, Callum Butcher could again fill in at centre-back alongside Ryan Edwards, joining full-backs Kieran Freeman and Scott McMann in the back four.
Midfielder Jeando Fuchs has joined Peterborough United on a permanent deal, so Declan Glass or Pawlett could join Harkes and Dylan Levitt in the middle of the pitch, while lmari Niskanen and Adrian Sporle are likely to begin the match on the substitutes' bench.
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; Juranovic, Carter-Vickers, Starfelt, Taylor; O'Riley, Bitton, Hatate; Forrest, Giakoumakis, Jota
Dundee United possible starting lineup:
Siegrist; Freeman, Edwards, Butcher, McMann; Harkes, Levitt, Pawlett; Clark; McNulty, Watt
We say: Celtic 3-1 Dundee United
Having drawn two of the last three meetings against Celtic, Dundee United will want to frustrate the Hoops once again and build momentum with a positive result on Saturday.
However, Postecoglou's men are in fine form at present, scoring at least twice in six of their last seven matches, and they should have no problems in securing all three points at Parkhead.
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 81.25%. A draw had a probability of 12.8% and a win for Dundee United had a probability of 5.98%.
The most likely scoreline for a Celtic win was 2-0 with a probability of 13.6%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-0 (12.11%) and 1-0 (10.18%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (6.07%), while for a Dundee United win it was 0-1 (2.27%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 10.2% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Celtic would win this match.
