Celtic get a chance to cement their place in the top five on Saturday when Workington come to visit (kick off 3pm, there will be a live match centre for this match). Workington are currently fifteenth in the league, ten places and thirteen points behind Celtic, having not won away this season.
Though Workington have won five games this season, all have been at home, though they did have a marvellous 3-0 result away at Barrow in the FA Trophy last week to set up a home tie with Wrexham. They had previously beaten King?s Lynn 4-3 at home and 1-0 away at Tamworth in the same competition, and have a good record against Celtic, having put us out of the FA Cup three times in ten years. Their last win in the league at Bower Fold was in the 06-07 season, when they beat us 2-1 at Bower Fold. Last season we met three times, once where they knocked us out of the FA Cup by winning 5-0 at Bower Fold, and once 1-0 at Workington. The last visit they made to Bower Fold last season saw them lose 3-0 in March.
In Workington?s last match, at home to Gainsborough Trinity, they had a marvellous result, winning 5-0 after storming into an early two goal lead and never letting up. At home, they have also beaten in form Vauxhall Motors 3-1, high flying Gateshead 4-2, Solihull Moors 2-1 and Burscough 4-1. They have had creditable away draws at Southport and Telford (both 0-0), also drawing against Droylsden, Hyde and Alfreton. Winning away is something that they are yet to achieve.
Workington?s top scorers this season are the two Wrights, Jonny and Anthony who have seven and six, with Gareth Arnison also on six, with the other nine goals coming from just four players: Tony Hopper (3), Shaun Vipond (3), Kyle May (2) and Anthony Graham (1). They are scoring an average of just 0.6 goals per game away (1.3 overall), whilst they concede an average of 1.3 away and overall. They have failed to score in seven away games and ten overall, whilst they have kept four clean sheets away (six overall). Workington?s most dangerous period is around the seventy minute mark when they have scored nine of their twenty-eight goals this season, whilst just after the hour is their most vulnerable with them conceding eight of their twenty-eight goals against this season. All except their most recent 5-0 win at home to Gainsborough have seen them keep clean sheets in 0-0 draws.
Workington have a clean bill of health, and have no players suspended ahead of the match, and in their last match lined up as:
1. Adam Collin
2. David Hewson
3. Gari Rowntree
4. Kyle May
5. Lee Andrews
6. Phil McLuckie
7. Shaun Vipond
8. Tony Hopper
9. Jonny Wright
10. Gareth Arnison
11. Anthony Wright
Celtic were still missing the services of Chris Williams against Hucknall in our last match through illness. Otherwise, the full squad was available. In our last match, the 2-2 draw at home to Hucknall, Celtic lined up as:
1. Paul Phillips
2. Ashley Woolliscroft
3. Rhys Meynell
4. Andy Smart
5. Nicky Platt
6. Barrie Keeling
7. Steve Torpey
8. Keith Briggs
9. Matty Barlow
10. Nathan Joynes
11. Richard Battersby
The automated prediction algorithm has suggested a 2-1 win for Celtic in this match, which would be a welcome score-line after Hucknall?s last gasp equaliser on Tuesday night, and could narrow the gap on the four teams above us. With Harrogate playing the disintegrating Stafford Rangers in Harrogate, anything other than a win for Celtic would see Harrogate replace us in the play-off spots should they get a win.
There is a full program of matches on for Saturday, weather permitting:
Burscough v Hinckley United
Fleetwood Town v AFC Telford United
Gainsborough Trinity v Alfreton Town
Gateshead v Solihull Moors
Harrogate Town v Stafford Rangers
Hucknall Town v Southport
Hyde United v Tamworth
King?s Lynn v Blyth Spartans
Redditch United v Droylsden
Vauxhall Motors v Farsley Celtic
