On Saturday, we travel to Bamber Bridge to take on one of the league’s in-form sides. Bamber Bridge are third in the table on twenty-seven points, ten places and fourteen points ahead of Celtic. Kick-off is 3pm.

A poor November ended a good spell from Bamber Bridge. After losing to Celtic at the start of September, Bamber Bridge went on a six-game unbeaten run with five wins and a draw lifting them to third in the table. However, one in and five losses, including a 7-0 away thrashing at the hands of Hyde that is this season’s highest away defeat, saw them slide down the table. Things picked up when they turned their season around and beat Matlock 5-1 at home at the end of November. Since then, they have had five more wins and a draw, putting them back third in the table, four points behind Hyde, with two games in hand. With one loss at home all season, when Liversedge beat them 2-1 in October, they are the second-best home form team behind South Shields, taking in eight wins, and three draws. Bamber Bridge’s most recent match was a county cup match against St Helens that Bamber Bridge won on penalties after drawing 1-1.

Sinclair Finley-Smith is head and shoulders top of the league goal scoring chart for them, with ten goals, with Harry Scarborough trailing four behind on six. Finley-Smith is joint-sixth in the overall League Golden Boot chart, with half of Regan Linney’s twenty. With twenty-six of their forty-three goals coming at home, Bamber Bridge have the third best home attack, scoring at a rate of 2.2 goals per home game, with their away goal scoring two thirds of that, lowering their overall goal scoring to 1.6 goals per game. They have scored in every home game this season and failed to score in six away matches. They have the fifth best home defence, conceding fourteen of their forty-five goals at home this season at a rate of 1.2 goals per game from 1.6 overall having conceded twice as many on the road as at home. Three of their six clean sheets have come at home.

In the past thirty years, we’ve met Bamber Bridge thirteen times, winning eight, losing three and drawing twice. In six visits to Irongate, we have won four and lost two. Our last win there was last season when we won 2-0, with goals in either half from Ntumba Massanka and Callum Harris. We also won in our previous visit, pre-Lockdown, when we came away 3-2 winners, overturning James Dean’s brace in the first half, with a brace from Darius Osei and a winner from Craig Hobson in the second half. Bamber Bridge’s last win was the game before that in 2018, when they won 3-0 after a dreadful first half from both teams that continued into the second for Celtic.

In Bamber Bridge’s last league match, the 2-0 away win over Belper Town, Bamber Bridge lined up as:
1. Luke Hutchinson
2. Sheldon Green
3. Aaron Skinner
4. Matthew Thomson
5. Nathan Pond
6. Macauley Wilson
7. Isaac Sinclair
8. Chris Churchman
9. Harry Scarborough
10. Joe Robbins
11. Finley Sinclair-Smith

In Celtic’s last league match, the 1-2 home defeat by Radcliffe, Celtic lined up as: 1. Greg Hall
2. Ciaran Summers
3. Raheem Hanley
4. Tom Miller
5. Dahrius Waldron
6. Domaine Rouse
7. Theo Bailey-Jones
8. Ethan Padden
9. Djavan Pedro
10. Chris Dagnall
11. Harry Benns

Raul Correia was back, starting from the subs bench, whilst Nathan Caine missed the match through injury. Matty Carson has been released by Accrington after a successful trial at a Championship club.

Celtic’s disappointing end to our magnificent that lifted us to second in the form table over six games needs a positive response. Going to the team top of the form table after six games is a big ask. A win could see us move into twelfth position if Stafford lose away at Warrington Town. A loss, however, could see us drop to fifteenth, with Ashton (at home to Morpeth) and Lancaster (away at South Shields) within striking distance. Atherton could draw level on points, but they would have to turn around a five goal difference away at Nantwich (not impossible).