Celtic’s clash with Motherwell tonight seems to guarantee goals.
Wilfried Nancy has already developed a reputation for a gung-ho style of football in his new role, while Jens Askou has been a revelation with his play-style at Fir Park.
In the reverse fixture at Celtic Park, the Celts won 3-2 with a late winner from Daizen Maeda. Motherwell more than held their own on the day, and Nancy will be wary of that.
But having finally found a recipe to win in his last two games, the Frenchman will be desperate to enter the New Year Glasgow Derby off the back of three consecutive wins.
And if tonight’s match ends in a certain way, Celtic and league leaders Hearts will end 2025 with exactly the same league record.
Is Jens Berthel Askou right about Celtic under Nancy? Let us know in the comments.
How Celtic could match Hearts’ record after Motherwell clash
Derek McInnes’ side are the unexpected league leaders at the turn of the year, having won four from four against the two Glasgow sides.
But this has largely been down to Celtic’s major drop-off in form, and an appropriate turnaround in the second half of the season should be enough for Nancy to win the title.
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If the Hoops can win 5-1 in Lanarkshire tonight – and that’s a big if – they will end 2025 with an identical league record to their biggest title rivals.
That would mean both teams being on 41 points, with 38 goals and 17 goals conceded. Talk about neck-and-neck.
The final whistle tonight will also mean the halfway point of the season, with 19 matches played out of 38. At that stage last season, Celtic had 50 points and 41 goals.
Their title rivals Hearts, at that stage last season, sat 11th in the Scottish Premiership with just 20 points. Quite the turnaround.
Nancy has rung the changes for tonight’s encounter, with the Glasgow Derby approaching on Saturday.
He’ll be hoping that this doesn’t disrupt the team’s momentum too much, with so much importance riding on his first meeting with Danny Rohl.
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Wilfried Nancy on Daizen Maeda at Celtic
Maeda’s role will be different tonight, with Luke McCowan dropping out of the starting XI.
When asked Maeda at a recent press conference, Nancy discussed what his best position was, between winger and striker.
His simple answer: “Both!
“He’s not a natural winger, I would say, because he’s able to make the run. Instead of when he starts in the middle, he makes the run on the side to attack.
“When he starts on the side, he makes the run towards the net. So this is all about this kind of situation.
“After that, he can be good also as a No 9 but he needs players around him. He’s a player who can keep the ball but he likes to make the run, he likes to combine. It’s all about players around him.
“But also, tactically, he’s really interesting because when I have him on the side, I know that something will happen.
“Or in behind, or we can use the fact that he’s on the wing to be able to attack through the middle. So it depends.”
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