On Saturday, Witton Albion visit Bower Fold. Witton are currently seventeenth in the league on twenty points, twelve places and ten points behind Celtic with four games in hand. Kick-off 3pm.

Witton won three of their opening four matches but then went five games picking up only one point. This pattern repeated, with three wins, followed by one point picked up in five games. After the first group of losses and a draw, Witton beat Congleton 5-2. Hopefully, not something they repeat on Saturday. Witton last won a month ago at home to Stafford (2-0), with their last away win the Tuesday before, away at Newcastle, winning 2-1. Only Clitheroe and Hanley have won fewer away games than Witton’s two. Out of their eight away games this season, they have won two, drawn one and lost five. Three of those five losses saw them concede four, and in Celtic’s last two matches, we’ve scored four…

With eight goals on the road, Witton have the third worst away attack in the league and their top scorer with one fifth of their twenty-five goals in total is still Joe Duckworth. They have failed to score in five matches (three away) and twice in their last two games. Defensively, they have the sixth worst defence, shipping seventeen goals away from home (Celtic are worse, we’ve shipped twenty-six, the actual worst defence in the league). Overall, they’ve conceded twenty-eight. They score at a rate of a goal per away game (1.4 overall), and concede 2.1 goals per away game (1.7 overall). Their only clean sheet on the road this season came at the end of August, when they beat Atherton Collieries 3-0.

Witton have visited Bower Fold eighteen times in the last 35 years. Their last visit, last season, finished 4-0 to Celtic, with braces from Matty Bryan and Aaron Dwyer. They beat us in the reverse fixture. The previous league meetings, Celtic edged the results, winning away 2-0 with goals from Steve Brogan and Justin Johnson) and drawing 2-2 at Bower Fold (both goals by Johnson). Witton’s last win at Bower Fold came in 2019, when they won 2-0. Overall, Celtic have won ten of the encounters, Witton four, with four draws.

In Witton’s last match, the 4-0 away loss at Avro, Witton lined up as:
1. Ellis Allen
2. Mike Koral
3. Lee Jackson
4. Oliver Hitchcox
5. Callum Grogan
6. James Salkeld
7. Isaac Graham
8. Owen German
9. Kevin Spirelli
10. Harry McGee
11. Elliott Rokka

In Celtic’s last match, the 4-3 away win over Chasetown, Celtic lined up as:
1. James McClenaghan
2. Jordan Butterworth
3. Kyle Brownhill
4. Jack Irlam
5. Aaron Chalmers
6. Sean Tse
7. Brandon Newell
8. Liam Tongue
9. Joe Duckworth
10. Lewis Rawthorn
11. Max Leonard

There have been fourteen goals in Celtic’s last two wins, with eight of them coming from Celtic, hopefully, we can repeat Witton’s last visit here and their last away match. Jack Tinning is suspended after his sending off against Runcorn.