Our first fixture of 2023 is at home to Liversedge on Monday January 2nd. Liversedge are currently 21st in the league, six points and one place below Celtic, but have two games in hand on us. Kick off is 3pm and tickets are available on the gate or online.

Liversedge have a far better away record than at home. At home they lost every match this season up until their last but one, when they beat Guiseley 2-1. Their last match saw them return to form, losing 3-0 to Whitby at home. On the road, they are a different proposition. Losing three, winning four and drawing twice. In their last five away games, Liversedge have beaten Matlock and Nantwich, drawn with Lancaster and lost to Marine and Stafford. The Marine game was their most recent away trip, seeing their fellow promoted team beat them 5-0.

In those last five away games, they scored three goals beating Nantwich 1-0 and Matlock 2-1. In their other three, they failed to score. Apart from the two goals scored in a draw at the start of the season with Bamber Bridge, any game Liversedge score in, they win. Of their 16 goals scored this season (the worst in the league), ten have come away from home, at a rate of 1.1 goals per game (0.8 overall). Of their 43 goals conceded this season (second worst in the league) a third, fifteen, have come away from home, at a rate of 1.7 goals per game (2.1 overall). Over half of their goals this season have come in the first half, whilst over half of their conceding is done in the second half. Their top scorer is Nathan Cartman on four goals, with James Walshaw behind him on three. Walshaw has not scored since August, whilst Cartman last found the net in the 2-1 win over Matlock back in October.

We’ve only played Liversedge once, at the start of the season when we won 1-0 at their place, thanks to Matty Liptrott’s second half goal.

In Liversedge’s last match, the 3-0 away loss to Whitby, Liversedge lined up as:

1. Jordan Porter
2. Alfie Raw
3. Connor Smythe
4. James Hurtley
5. Jack Steers
6. Kurt Harris
7. Ben Atkinson
8. George Proctor
9. Joe Walton
10. Bobby Pointon
11. Jack Carr

In Celtic’s last match, the 1-0 away derby win over Hyde, Celtic lined up as: 

1. Greg Hall
2. Ciaran Summers
3. Matty Carson
4. Kyle Harrison
5. Dahrius Waldron
6. Tom Miller
7. Theo Bailey-Jones
8. Ethan Padden
9. Raul Correia
10. Chris Dagnall
11. Nathan Caine

A win for Celtic could lift us out of the bottom four, as we are level on points and behind on goal difference with Nantwich (at home to Warrington Town) and Marske (away at Whitby). We are only one point behind Morpeth (at home to South Shields) and two behind Whitby (at home to Marske) and could go level on points with Lancaster (away at Atherton Colls), if all the results go our way. With Whitby and Marske playing each other, a move up to 16th is possible.

Godwin Abadaki will be serving the final match of his four-match ban, whilst Ozzie Abadaki and Harry Benns missed out on the Tameside derby through injury.