On Saturday, Celtic travel to the North East to face South Shields. South Shields have a hundred percent record at home, winning every match. Their away record hasn't been as good, leaving them just outside the top five in seventh on thirty-four points, seven points and five places above Celtic, although they have played three games less. There will be a Twitter feed for this game, but no score centre.

South Shields are four points and two places off the play offs, with two games in hand on the two teams above them (Gainsborough and Basford), meaning that winning those games would put them back in the play-off spots. Their home form is by far and away the best in the league, with eight wins from eight, scoring twenty-five goals and conceding just three. Away from home they have won three, drawn one but lost six, keeping them out of the top five. Their last five games have seen them win four and draw one, the most recent game a goalless away draw with Nantwich. Their last home game was a 5-0 thrashing of Matlock, presumably to make up for conceding two goals in the previous home match when Mickleover visited, the winner coming in stoppage time.

They have no out and out goal scorer, with three players on five goals each, Carl Flannigan the danger man in home matches, having scored all five at home. Their goals are coming at a rate of 3.1 goals per game at home (and two per game overall), with six clean sheets at home from ten overall. They have scored in every home match, and conceded just three goals all season at home, in just two matches at a rate of 0.4 goals per game, 1.1 per game overall. South Shield's most dangerous period is in the last ten minutes, when they have scored seven goals, whilst their highest conceding period comes in the last fifteen minutes, with ten goals conceded.

We have already met South Shields this season, when they won their first away game, beating us 1-0 at Bower Fold. We've never visited South Shields.

In their last match, the 0-0 away draw with Nantwich, South Shields lined up as:
1. Liam Connell
2. Craig Baxter
3. Blair Adams
4. Jon Shaw
5. Dillon Morse
6. Phil Turnbull
7. Gavin Cogdon
8. Robert Briggs
9. Lee Mason
10. Carl Finnigan
11. Nathan Lowe

In the Celtic's last match, the 2-2 home draw with Stafford, Celtic lined up as:
1. Jake Turner
2. Joshua Solomon Davies
3. Elliott Cook
4. Liam Tongue
5. Chris Smalley
6. Michael Clarke
7. Jamal Crawford
8. Ross Dent
9. Scott Bakkor
10. Andrew Scott
11. Neil Kengni

Glenn Rule will be serving the final game of his suspension and is unavailable.

Two teams are within three points above Celtic, Hyde and Whitby, so inflicting South Shields first home loss since New Year's Day (they were beaten by Scarborough) could let us rise above Hyde and Whitby depending on their results against Nantwich and Matlock; whilst two teams are within three points below Celtic, Bamber Bridge and Hednesford. With Bamber Bridge playing in the Trophy, a loss could see Celtic drop one place, if Hednesford beat Stafford.