Expect goals as Motherwell and Kilmarnock aim to shock

Scottish Football / John Girvan / 12 September 2008 / Leave a Comment

Following their Old Firm game humiliation and the international interruption, this is a good time for Motherwell to play Celtic, says John Girvan.

With International fixtures holding up proceedings in the SPL it's almost been two weeks since Celtic took a beating on their own territory at the hands of arch rivals Rangers. The bitter aftertaste such a defeat tends to leave isn't easy to shake off but going out and ensuring of three points in your next fixture goes some way to repairing the wounds. That's the aim for Gordon Strachan's men this Saturday lunch time when they travel to Motherwell for a match being screened live on Setanta Sports 1.

Will it be a simple as this though? Celtic have a decent enough record at this ground and in the last three seasons five trips to Fir Park have produced 3 away wins and 2 draws. The Steelmen did manage a win over Celtic at Parkhead last season however and with Celtic maybe low in confidence they will surely feel that it is a good time to play their visitors.

The International break doesn't help either and the Celtic coaching staff will maybe only have seen the entirety of their squad on Friday. There is no doubt Gordon Strachan would have much preferred a home fixture to help put right the wrongs of their Old Firm defeat but they will have to get on with it.

Mark McGhee's men play fast paced attacking football, especially at home and there could be a few goals in this one so Over 2.5 goals could be worth backing at [2.08]. Celtic are looking for their 3rd consecutive win here and this is available at [1.79] in the match odds. Whether we see this or not really depends on what kind of reaction we see from the current champions. If there is not a marked improvement from the Rangers defeat then the most likely outcome will be the draw at [3.55] or even the home win at [5.9].

Ibrox is the venue for a fixture this Saturday between two sides looking to build on an encouraging start to their seasons. Hosts Rangers and visitors Kilmarnock have both bagged 10 points from their opening four matches making this a top of the table clash. A 1-0 for Kilmarnock in May 2007 aside this is a meeting Rangers usually do quite well in having won all four other home games against Killy in the last three seasons. It is also worth noting that the win margin in all of these matches has been at least two goals.

There are one or two injury worries for Walter Smith with Kenny Miller doubtful due to a hamstring problem The severity of a knee injury means Lee McCulloch is still two or three weeks away from full fitness. Steven Whittaker is carrying a knock, Kyle Lafferty could miss out through back problems and Kevin Thomson is due to have a scan on an Achilles problem that forced him to limp out of the Scotland squad. Barry Ferguson is a long term absentee of course but David Weir should be fit again to lead out the boys in blue.

Rangers have strength in depth at this level however and the congestion in and around the Murray Park treatment tables could open the door to recent US recruit Mo Edu. The defensive midfielder has been on International duty but returns on Friday and he is likely to come into the starting 11 in place of Kevin Thomson. This could also be an opportunity for the likes of Boyd, Velicka and Darcheville to prove their worth. Daniel Cousin is now at Hull City and this is a chance Boyd in particular could take advantage of as the Irvine man seems to have a habit of scoring against his former employers.

Kilmarnock are travelling to Govan in a confident mood. Manager Jim Jeffries picked up the Manager of the Month award for August this week and told BBC Sport that the aim is to go to Ibrox this weekend and cause a shock. Killy are [14.5] in the match odds and have yet to concede a goal but there is a good chance Rangers ([1.29]) will put a stop to this and take all three points but a draw would be considered an achievement by the visitors and can be backed at [6.0]. The value lies in a comfortable home win and Rangers -1.5 goals can be backed at [1.92] in the Asian Handicap market where any two goal win margin for The Gers is enough to bring home the money.

Elsewhere Aberdeen are fancied for a home win over Hamilton. They are [1.69] in the match odds and have recovered well since the opening day home defeat at the hands of Inverness. The home draw with Rangers and away victories at Motherwell and St. Mirren will have lifted confidence whilst Accies form is almost the complete opposite. The newcomers started well but are discovering what the top flight is all about and Pittodrie is a very difficult place to visit. Jamie Smith is out for the hosts but The Dons should get their first home win of the season.