On Tuesday, Celtic travel to the league’s form team, Morpeth Town. Morpeth are currently 11th on 36 points, four places and six points ahead of Celtic having played a game less. Kick-off is 7:45pm.

Morpeth are topping the form table after just one loss in their last 16 games, rising from propping up the table back in September to their current position. 

Morpeth started the season with four straight losses, winning just once in their opening eleven games. Their last loss was back at the start of October, when South Shields beat them 2-0. 

Their last home loss was at the start of September when they lost 2-1 to Witton. They are unbeaten at home in their last nine, with six wins and three draws. Their last match saw them beat Buxton 3-0 at home, with their previous home match being a 2-2 draw to Stafford. Only Gainsborough and Buxton have lost fewer home matches this season.

Morpeth’s top scorer is Andrew Johnson, who has nine goals, with Liam Noble on five. They have scored their 22 home goals (39 overall) at a rate of 1.8 goals per game at home, from 1.6 overall and have only failed to score just once at home in a goalless draw with Matlock. Morpeth have conceded 12 at home (34 in total) at a rate of a goal per game from 1.4 overall and have kept five of their six clean sheets at home, with their most recent one being the 3-0 win over Buxton.

We’ve met Morpeth just twice, with both games being at Bower Fold. We should have played them just ahead of the first lockdown, but a waterlogged pitch ended that trip, the truncated season meant the rearrangement never happened. 

We have therefore never visited, but they have come to Bower Fold twice. In both visits, Celtic won, most recently at the start of this season when we beat them 2-0 with both goals coming from Ioan Evans. Their other visit finished 3-1 for Celtic with Lewis Salmon, Scott Sephton and Matty Makinson scoring in Celtic’s first win of the season that never was.

Morpeth’s last match was 3-0 home win over Buxton, in which Morpeth lined up as:
1. Dan Lowson
2. Joe Walton
3. Wayne Phillips
4. Sam Hodgson
5. Jeff Henderson
6. Michael Turner
7. Jack Foalle
8. Liam Noble
9. Liam Henderson
10. Ryan Donaldson
11. Andrew Johnson

In Celtic’s last league match, the 2-1 away defeat to FC United of Manchester, Celtic lined up as:
1. Liam Hughes
2. Matthew Liptrott
3. Ashley Smith-Brown
4. Sam Wedgbury
5. Connor O’Grady
6. Shane Killock
7. Scott Bakkor
8. Charley Doyle
9. Raul Correia
10. Keenan Quansah
11. Justin Johnson

Celtic will look to bounce back after the weekend's defeat to FC United. Although Celtic have games in hand on most teams (apart from Morpeth), no team is within three points, so a win would not see us lifted any places. Ashton, Hyde and Gainsborough are all within three points of Celtic but are not playing on Tuesday.