Celtic continue their run of home matches when they play host to Hamilton at Parkhead on Saturday in the Scottish Premiership.
Brendan Rodgers’s side have returned to action hungry for success after their loss to Rangers before the winter break and have recorded victories over Airdrie in the Scottish Cup and St Mirren in the league since competitive action resumed last weekend.
On Saturday, they will start as hot favourites against a Hamilton side in the grip of a relegation battle.
| Game | Celtic vs Hamilton Academical |
| Date | Saturday, January 25 |
| Time | 3pm GMT / 10am ET |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game can be streamed live online via Celtic TV.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | Celtic TV |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will not be broadcast or streamed live.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | N/A |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Celtic squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Gordon, Bain, De Vries |
| Defenders | Izaguirre, Benkovic, J. Hendry, Simunovic, Gamboa, Boyata, Lustig, Compper, Ajer, Ralston, Miller |
| Midfielders | Brown, Sinclair, Morgan, Allan, Ntcham, McGregor, Forrest, Mulumbu, Burke, Hayes, Christie |
| Forwards | Edouard, Johnston, Weah |
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has a raft of problems to cope with once again. Kieran Tierney remains the headline injury absentee, though Eboue Kouassi and Olivier Ntcham also remain sidelined.
Tom Rogic is on international duty with Australia while Leigh Griffiths is still on personal leave.
There are also doubts over Tony Ralston, Odsonne Edouard and Dedryck Boyata.
After scoring twice in two games off the bench, Tim Weah must be a contender to start, though displacing any of the starting XI promises to be a tricky task.
Possible Celtic starting XI: Gordon; Lustig, Benkovic, Boyata, Izaguirre; Brown, McGregor; Forrest, Christie, Sinclair; Burke.
| Position | Hamilton squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Woods, Mucha, Fulton, Marsden |
| Defenders | Tshiembe, Kilgallon, McMann, Gogic, Penny, Want, Sowah, McGowan, Gordon |
| Midfielders | Taiwo, Mackinnon, Martin, Monlouis, Kelly, Smith |
| Forwards | Imrie, Ogboe, Boyd, Brustad, Bingham, Keatings, Miller, Bloomfield |
Hamilton will sweat over the fitness of Delphin Tshiembe, Darian MacKinnon and Mikel Miller prior to their trip to Celtic Park.
Marios Ogboe, meanwhile, will definitely miss out.
Possible Hamilton starting XI: Fulton; McGowan, Kilgallon, Gordon; McMann; Gogic, Andreu, Imrie, Taiwo; Boyd, Davies.
Betting & Match Odds
Celtic are priced as 1/12 favourites to win with bet365. A draw can be backed at 10/1, while Hamilton are 20/1 outsiders.
Match Preview
Getty Images
Celtic finished 2018 exhausted following a hectic campaign that had started all the way back in mid-July.
The Hoops have had an injection of fresh blood over the course of the January window, with Oliver Burke and Timothy Weah coming into the squad and instantly providing a hit of adrenaline.
Both have been instrumental in the positive manner that they have started 2019, with comfortable wins over Airdrie and St Mirren, helping to leave manager Rodgers very satisfied.
“I said to the players that it's always the mark of good teams that you play well at the weekend but then put in a better performance in your midweek game,” he said.
“I thought defensively we worked very hard, compact, pressed the game well, very co-ordinated, then really worked the ball well, showing patience but also the ability to create chances.”
Of course, both of their victories were to be expected against comparatively weak opponents, and on Saturday Celtic will again have to face up to the pressure of being red-hot favourites when they host Accies.
Hamilton were thumped 3-0 at home in midweek by Aberdeen, leaving them winless in their last eight games in all competitions.
Despite the pressure mounting on manager Martin Canning, he remains optimistic that his side can cause an upset at the weekend.
“If you go there doubting yourself or lacking that little bit of confidence, good players sense that and they can really punish you,” he said.
“We have got to go there with the belief that we can get something from the game, everyone working hard, the concentration high and approaching that game no different to how we would normally approach those games and see if we can take something from it.”
With Celtic suddenly replete with attacking options and beginning to show the kind of swagger expected of them, Hamilton could not make the trip to Glasgow’s East End at a worse time.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
