On New Year’s Day, Celtic will meet Bury for the fourth time in a competitive match, all of which came this season. Bury are third in the table on forty-four points, three places and two points ahead of Celtic with a game in hand. This is an all-ticket game. Kick-off is 3pm.

Many tipped Bury to get instant promotion this season, and they are doing well, in and around the play-off spots all season, thanks to their home record. They have dropped points in three games, drawing with Atherton at the end of November, and losing twice, once to Lower Breck and once to us. They’ve lost three on the road, and drawn four, putting them lower down the away form table, but with three away losses, there are only four teams who have lost fewer away from home. In their last ten matches overall, they’ve won six, lost two and drawn two, while in their last five away matches, Bury have won three, lost one and drawn one.

Much of Bury’s success this season boils down to their defence, the third best overall in the league, with only Avro conceding fewer at home. Away, both Avro and Runcorn have conceded fewer, but fourteen conceded on the road is the third best away defence this season so far, and ten of those goals came in four matches, keeping three clean sheets on their travels, failing to score in the same number. On average, Bury score 1.3 goals per away game (1.6 overall), whilst conceding 1.3 goals per away game (a goal per game overall). Bury’s danger point is around half time, with fourteen goals scored in a twenty minute interval, three ahead of the whistle, and eleven afterwards. Topping their league goal scorers’ chart is Rustam Stepans, with nine, though Kai Evans sand DJ Pedro are up there on seven apiece.

In Bury’s last match, the 2-0 home win over Clitheroe saw Bury line up as:
1. Mitch Allen
2. James Neild
3. Bebeto Gomes
4. Luke Tabone
5. Louis Isherwood
6. Bobby Carroll
7. Rustam Stepans
8. Callum Spooner
9. DJ Pedro
10. Owen Robinson
11. Leo Graham

In Celtic’s last match, the 0-0 away draw with Mossley, Celtic lined up as:
1. Charlie Monks
2. Mike Koral
3. Kyle Brownhill
4. Aaron Chalmers
5. Jack Burne
6. Jordan Butterworth
7. Charlie Doyle
8. Liam Tongue
9. Max Leonard
10. Andy Scarisbrick
11. Ellis Horan

Jack Tinning and Jack Irlam will be unavailable through suspension, and Benni Smales-Braithwaite will still be out for a little while longer.

Celtic are within three points of Bury, so a win would lift us above them. If results go our way, Shifnal (away at Darlaston) and Runcorn (at home to Witton) are both within three points of Celtic, so we could get to third. Vauxhall (away at Newcastle) and Chasetown (at home to Khalsa) are both within three points of Celtic, so a loss could see us drop two more places to eighth.