On Saturday, Celtic’s penultimate away trip sees us travel to Warrington to face Rylands. Rylands are currently tenth on fifty-six points, seventeen points and ten places above Celtic having played a game more. Kick-off is 3pm.

Since promotion, Rylands have blown hot and cold, after picking up one point in their opening three, they won the next three easily, beating Bamber Bridge, Belper and Marine scoring eight without reply. September and October saw them win none of their matches, though they picked up four draws amid three losses. Though they finished 2022 strongly, a similar poor run of form in February and March saw them fall away from the play-off spots and they can no longer reach them, though four wins in five pulled them into the top ten. They have won their last three, scoring eight and conceding two and have not lost at home in their last four, with South Shields being the last team to beat them at home at the start of February. This is Ryland’s last home match, and so far, they have won ten home matches had three draws and lost seven.

With fourteen goals, Cal Dolan is their top scorer five ahead of Kane Drummond, despite neither still playing for Rylands. On average they score 1.5 goals per game with 1.4 of them at home, with twenty-seven of their sixty goals this season coming at home whilst they have failed to score six times at home the last time in a 1-0 loss to South Shields; in total, they have failed to score twelve. They have the sixth best attack in the league overall, but the eleventh best attack at home. Defensively, they have kept nine of their twelve clean sheets at home, most recently a goalless draw at the end of February to FC United. Rylands have conceded fifty-two in total, twenty of which were at home, which is the seventh best home defence in the league and the eleventh best defence overall.

We’ve only played Rylands once before when they came to Bower Fold in November. That game finished 2-1 to Rylands after Raul Correia opened the scoring and in the final minutes of the game Kyle Harrison’s sending off gave Rylands the opportunity to equalise and then take the lead.

In Rylands’s last match, the 3-0 away win over Radcliffe, Rylands lined up as:
1. Luke Pilling
2. James Neild
3. Jordan Mustoe
4. Scott Duxbury
5. Sam Egerton
6. Dean Furman
7. Joe Adams
8. Matt Sargent
9. Colin Oppong
10. Mo Touray
11. Ozzie Abadaki

In Celtic’s last league match, the 2-2 home draw with Hyde, Celtic lined up as:
1. Joseph O’Shaughnessy
2. Luke Barlow
3. Anis Zaknoune
4. Mo Ali
5. Danny Burns
6. Tom Miller
7. Theo Bailey-Jones
8. Domaine Rouse
9. Raul Correia
10. Chris Dagnall
11. Harry Benns

Kyle Harrison remains unavailable through his four-match ban, with two matches left to serve, whilst Danny Burns one game ban for his red card against Hyde will not commence until Saturday against Morpeth.

A win for Celtic could see us escape the drop zone and overtake both Marske and Nantwich if they draw in their match in Marske, whilst Morpeth (away at relegated Belper) and Atherton (at home to Whitby) would be in reach if we also win our game in hand. Liversedge could be relegated if they don’t beat Guiseley away. It boils down to Celtic winning our last three matches and it’s in our hands. If we lose, and both Morpeth and Atherton win, the best we can finish is eighteenth, meaning we’d have to beat Marske and Atherton in our last two games.