Old Firm Foray Part 2 || Motherwell v Celtic Preview
- Ruaraidh Blackwood
- Dec 30, 2025
- 12 min read
After a narrow defeat away to The Rangers - despite a stonewall penalty shout - Motherwell return home for the second game of the festive period flurry. This time round, it's the visit of the other side of Glasgow: Celtic's Nancy Bhoys.
With our loss at Ibrox, and Celtic winning away at the Spaghettihad, we slip to fourth in the table. It is fair to say that this table should perhaps look a little different, with Lukas Fadinger clearly being tripped in the Rangers box in the dying seconds, but to dwell on that decision instead of the countless chances missed by Motherwell in both halves of the game would be foolish.
The Form Guide...
Motherwell come into this game with their confidence knocked, at least slightly. Despite another game in which we've dominated possession in both halves (a positive sign when playing away in such a hostile environment) the Steelmen yet again failed to score in a game. The Form Guide still has a very positive look to it, however, with only one registered loss, so there is still absolutely cause for optimism going forward.
After a somewhat shaky start to the beginning of the Nancy era, Celtic seem to have reclaimed some semblance of stability, with two comfortable wins over Aberdeen and Livingston. It would be fair to say they were helped somewhat by both a red card in the Aberdeen game (dreadful distribution from Mitov but Maeda has still made a lot more of the 'contact' between him and Lobban) and a more than contentious penalty decision going their way in the Livi game.
I must also mention the timing of bringing in the new manager at Parkhead, when it comes to explaining that opening run of results for him. To have a supposed "project" manager's first three games game be: a top of the table clash with Hearts, a massive home European tie against Roma, and a cup final, is a downright bizarre decision by whoever put that in place. Considering the fact that the Hoops had a perfect record in the league under Martin O'Neill, and only lost one European game, it made far more sense to give him till at least the final against St Mirren. It could have even been a more gentle transition process, in which O'Neill could have taken charge on the touchline while Nancy began implementing his style behind the scenes. Regardless, Celtic are now slowly starting to find their feet under the new boss's regime.
The Teams...
Motherwell made two changes from the team that won at home to Dundee, with Charles-Cook and Slattery making way for Sparrow and Said, respectively. The exclusion of Charles-Cook especially left us at the Dispatch scratching our heads, considering the impact he has had in Maswanhise's absence, but Tom Sparrow was an able enough deputy, making some brilliant runs in behind and linking play well.
We cannot really fault the defensive display, really. With Callum Ward making 12 saves in the game, as well as 19 clearances, our defensive performance (on the whole) was consistent with the past few games. However, with all that being said, if our end product remains as... impotent as it does, it is only a matter of time before teams with the individual quality that Rangers possess will hurt you.
Despite our fantastic chances and long periods sustained pressure in the first half, the second was one of allowing Rangers a path into the game; and therefore allowing them to throw bodies forward to far greater success than we had managed in the first. With the ball having already been in the net, although having rightly been chopped off due to an offside from Chermiti, Rangers found the breakthrough on 67 minutes when Ward parried the ball directly into the path of Thelo Aasgaard. An unfortunate one for the 'keeper, considering his form of late and how well he'd played in the game, but it could also be said that his initial save perhaps should have been better - either by forcing the ball out for a corner, or at least wide enough to be out of immediate danger.
I'm afraid that, once again, I am talking about missed opportunities and fine margins with this team. Jack Butland was called into action on numerous occasions, and making some quite fantastic saves to boot, but we simply must start finding the back of the net. With our Warrior Tawanda returning from AFCON after the group stages - although scoring a sensational solo goal in his only start against World Cup-bound South Africa - it is fair to say we are in dire need of his electric scoring form to return to Lanarkshire.
Celtic have transitioned from using a 4-3-3 under Martin O'Neill to a 3-4-2-1 system employed by WIlfried Nancy. They only made one change from the win over Aberdeen, with Kasper Schmeichel missing his first league game this season.
This tends to play as advertised but with Nygren, Kenny, and Maeda tending to rotate throughout. Yang and McCowan will tend to bomb on too, creating opportunities for wing play and crosses into the box for any of the front three, or a marauding winger/centre half.
What The Manager Had To Say...
On the squad, Askou mentioned that Stephen Welsh - obviously being a Celtic loanee - is unavailable and will be watching from the stands, and Regan Charles-Cook has picked up something in an 'incident' last week, and has been sent to a specialist. No timeline given, but JBA did say it could be a matter of 'weeks, or maybe longer'. A massive blow for the Grenadan and for the Steelmen, given his good form of late.
On the penalty incident from the Rangers game, it was said that Brian [Caldwell] has been in contact with the SFA, but Askou - very level-headedly - said there is no point to him wasting energy communicating with referees after the fact about decisions that have occured during it, simply because there is no way of changing their decisions or the outcome. The overarching feeling, at least publicly, is that of moving on quickly and accepting that sometimes the things that you cannot control do not go your way.
It was mildly frustrating to hear journalists repeatedly ask the same question from different angles, trying to get some sort of different answer from Askou when, quite clearly, what's done is done. I agree with him that - while incredibly demoralising seeing such a stonewall penalty decision not go our way at Ibrox yet again - there is absolutely no point dwelling on it, especially with another massive game on the horizon.
On Stephen Welsh, it has been reported that Celtic are not planning to recall him in January, which is definitely a positive for Motherwell with regards to the remainder of the season. The question then asked was about the chances of us striking a deal with the Hoops to lure Welsh to ML1 permanently. On this, Askou almost batted the question away, stating it is 'very early' to be talking about such things. As of right now, Welsh's deal is to be loaned to the Steelmen for the season, and that is all. Celtic are happy with his development, Motherwell are happy with his impact, and the player is happy to be in Motherwell.
On the positives that can be taken into the Celtic game from Saturday, Askou was quick to note that - while he was happy with parts of the game at the weekend - he is fully aware of the differences in both strengths and individualisms between the two Glasgow sides. Motherwell come into this one still with a confidence, and it will be two sides who are both very dynamic in their play (more on that below) and will be an exciting challenge for us to go toe to toe with them. The only thing that we perhaps need is better sharpness and composure when our chances do arrive, and JBA seems very confident that they will.
Upon reflection from the game at Parkhead earlier in the season, JBA absolutely believes that we will have the ability to replicate the level of performance, regardless of what manager is setting them up. He talked down the fact that this is a "big game" because we're playing Celtic in the same way that we didn't talk up the fact that we were playing at Ibrox at the weekend. The fact of the matter is: we're playing 11v11. Same as every week. Sure, Celtic's quality is perhaps better across the pitch than someone like Livingston but regardless of the opponent, the game is as much about the Steelmen trying to dominate possession and stamp our style onto the game as limiting Celtic's chances. There will be chances at both ends - Askou mentioned Celtic's very high xG stat since Nancy came in, and how they're starting to translate that into more goals - which then means we will have to be sharp at both ends to account for it.
On the new regime at Celtic under Nancy, and if he's starting to see if the new boss's methods are starting to take shape, Askou mentioned that - when coming in to such a massive club as Celtic are, and with the problems that they've had so far this term - it can take a bit of time to implement the new ideas and the new philosophy. I would liken it to trying to do a three-point turn in a narrow street while driving a lorry. It will take time, and there may be some firm resistance along the way, but it ultimately can ease the congestion, and get traffic flowing in the right direction.
Conversely, the same journalist then mentioned how the new style of play employed by Celtic is far more open. The word used was 'opportunity', and a fine word for the game tomorrow it could be. The fluidity and rotation of players and positions - not to mention the number they commit forwards - can leave them very exposed on the counter attack, where recovering players are either out of their preferred position for more time, or they are simply not available to recover. This then affords our attacking players far more gaps to exploit on said counter, and our fast interplay in transition can and hopefully will be a thorn in the side of the Celtic team. All it then needs is a sharpness and composure in front of goal and we could be laughing. JBA very much was aware and quick to mention the balance between risk and reward when it comes to weighing up the challenge (and opportunity) of dealing with that 'gung-ho' approach to attacking play.
Finally, JBA was asked that - for all the rightful praise that has been lauded on his team - do we perhaps still need a "statement" win against a top team. While I understand the question being asked, and perhaps a different manager would agree that the only thing missing - as a "statement" to the rest of the title contenders that we are perhaps able of challenging too - it seems an almost daft question to ask Askou. The epitome of level-headedness went on to explain how he doesn't see a comfortable, controlled 1-0 home win over Dundee, or a 2-0 win over Dundee United, or even a 3-0 win over Livingston, has any less significance. It is still three points gained. Regardless of the opponent, we are attempting to gain the same number of points. While subjectively yes, three points taken from a top 6 side is potentially more 'valuable' over the course of the season, if you then go on to drop points against teams at the bottom of the table, you're still not going to be in the mix for European places come the Split. And that is a fantastic, almost media-defiant, view to take on the games we play. Take them one at a time, and they all hold equal weight.
The Tactics...
So, with all that being said, how do we break them down, and how do we mitigate their threats?
Well, to answer the former question, I looked back at their previous games against SPL opponents under Nancy, and have found some interesting answers, both formationally and tactically.
First off, formation-wise. Playing against a three-back with only one wide player means that we already have numerical superiority on the wings. With McCowan and Yang playing against Livi, Celtic employed more like a 3-2-5 formation against them, with the wing-backs very much being more attack-minded. If Motherwell can press high and win the ball back, or are even able to counter quickly, it leaves both in no-man's-land, and we're then bearing down on their final line on defence with numbers.
Tactically, piggybacking on from Askou's pre-match press conference, Celtic are a far more open side than they were under Martin O'Neill. the 3-4-2-1 system that Nancy employs relies almost solely on numerical superiority in attack to create overloads all over the pitch. While this may sound like a recipe for disaster when Motherwell are out of possession, but it is still very much the grounding that could provide meaningful, devastating counter attacks, like I mentioned earlier.
On the back foot, especially during and shortly after transitions, Celtic can be quite disastrously all over the place. With Trusty as a centre CB, they're then reliant on him and whichever wide centre-back who tucks in (Ralston if the ball goes down the left wing, and Tierney if vice-versa) to be the back line. While this means that Motherwell, upon breakdown of Celtic's play and regaining possession, will have eight Celtic players to contend with in our own half initially, with one diagonal ball to the opposite channel - or even some quick interplay between the back four and double pivot - we could be off to the races. Especially since none of Celtic's back line are even remotely fast.
Along with this, Celtic players seem to press in packs, often 'ball-watching' rather than staying with runners. This is true both during transitional phases and when defending their own penalty box. If the Steelmen can string some passes together, and get runners off the ball in the final third, this could be a very fruitful avenue for chance creation. I'm looking at the likes of Longelo, Said and Eli Just for these sorts of runs in between/behind the lines, getting to the by-line and looking for cutbacks to the corridor of uncertainty.
Our final area of attacking focus could and should be from set-pieces and crosses. I know, I know, but hear me out.
I know we don't have the most height or attacking threat from set-pieces flung into the box. Or, at least not at first contact. But I'm not necessarily talking about first contact. During the second phase of most set-plays I've looked at, Celtic do not go touch tight with any of their opposite numbers. It's how Zach Sapsford was allowed the freedom to pick his spot in the United game, and produce a stunner, and how Montaño scored Livi's second against them. Along with this, Celtic are dreadful with their man-marking at corners, and can be very slack and slow at the uptake of their zonal positions (Eli Just/Callum Slattery quick corner, I hear you say?). Their zonal procedure when defending corners leaves the back post quite shockingly defended, and a ball there for the likes of Liam Gordon to challenge - either looking for the header down and a rebound or a shot on goal - could be an easy alleyway for first or second phase shots on goal. The reactiveness from first contact would suggest to me that looking for a rebound would be the best option, but switching it up to keep them guessing will never go amiss.
Now, the bad.
Celtic fling men forwards at an alarming rate. On the counter, they have two options. With Kenny playing in the false nine, they will look for him to play with his back to goal, then trying to find his teammates with layoffs, or alternatively will look for through balls straight to the wide men, who'll make defence-splitting runs either on the outside or in the gaps between defenders. In a similar way to how we'll look to expose Celtic's backline, they'll almost certainly want to counter us when either of our full backs have bombed on, and find the gaps they leave. This then leaves a 1v1 against Gordon or McGinn, and there is almost no contest there.
In slow build-up, Celtic have favoured a back-post cross above almost all else in the past few games, either from deep - looking for the late run of Yang, Nygren, or a marauding wide centre-half - or by running/passing to the by-line and looking for the low cross - either cutting back to between the 6-yard box and penalty spot, or right along the corridor of uncertainty. The former can then either be headed straight towards goal, or look for a header down and a second contact goalwards.
Finally, Celtic will probably want to press us high. This can be both to our detriment and our advantage. Detrimentally, it means that we will not be afforded the space and time to play in our backfield that we perhaps would be against other opponents, but if we can play through the press we will create overloads and chances on the front foot - owing to Celtic's propensity to throw men forwards with no regard of the back door. It almost harkens back to Celtic teams of old, in which the motto was always one of 'out-scoring' and trusting the forward players to do their jobs rather than being defensively resolute and hard to break down.
Either way, it will be an interesting matchup, and could be a contender for game of the season.
What The Captain Had To Say...
To Sum Up...
This has all the hallmarks of a Christmas cracker. 'El Passico' they're calling it in the press, and it's hard to disagree. Two teams who want to play football in an exciting and dynamic manner, and who've both got all to play for. I personally cannot wait for us to test ourselves against the reigning champions again, and I am eager see out of: a change of one regime, and a maturing of the other, which one comes out on top.
One prediction? Goals. And lots of them.
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