Celtic travel to face Dundee United at Tannadice this weekend as they hope to continue their Scottish Premiership momentum before Christmas strikes.
The Bhoys are still unbeaten domestically and hold an 11-point advantage over Aberdeen at the summit, but Aberdeen and Rangers have the chance to cut that gap on Saturday.
Last weekend, Celtic won the Premier Sports Cup against Rangers in a dramatic six-goal encounter that went all the way to penalties before Daizen Maeda delivered the decisive kick.
On the other hand, Dundee United arrive back at Tannadice after a 4-3 defeat away to Motherwell at Fir Park. Nevertheless, they haven’t lost at home since late October and find themselves in the Scottish Premiership top six.
Brendan Rodgers’ men have proved an impossible nut to crack so far in the top flight, and Jim Goodwin has touched on why he has his work cut out this weekend against a side that has been all-conquering in Scotland.
Jim Goodwin has been impressed by ‘obscene’ Celtic
Speaking to The Courier, Goodwin admits he has been impressed by ‘obscene’ Celtic as his side plot a result against them at Tannadice this weekend.
He stated: “We know we’ve got a big task on our hands on Sunday. Nobody has managed to beat Celtic in the league yet.
“They’ve only dropped two points all season, only conceded four goals and scored an obscene number of goals. Hopefully we can come up with a plan, a system and personnel that can cause an upset.
Later, he added: “Aberdeen held them to a draw at Parkhead, but the chances that Celtic missed in the first half probably didn’t put the game to bed.
“They’ve got so many good quality players. You can put your attention on one player and then another player finds space and causes you problems. It’s as tough a game as it comes.
“We’re hoping to deny them space and have a good defensive shape. We can’t make the same mistakes we made last Saturday, or we’ll get punished.”
Goodwin looking for Dundee United to capitalise in attack
He continued, stating: “We’ve got to try and come up with an offensive plan to cause them one or two problems.
“It’s trying to get the balance right when you’re playing against such a good opponent; you can’t leave yourself wide open and get punished because of the space, but you’ve also got to try and impose yourself.
“That’s the task that lies ahead. Every team has tried it so far and nobody’s been successful – but we have to believe that we’re capable of doing it.”
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  CelticCeltic | 15 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 4 | 40 | 43 |
| 2 |  AberdeenAberdeen | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 30 | 18 | 12 | 34 |
| 3 |  RangersRangers | 15 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 27 | 9 | 18 | 32 |
| 4 |  MotherwellMotherwell | 16 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 22 | 26 | -4 | 25 |
| 5 |  Dundee UtdDundee Utd | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 25 | 19 | 6 | 24 |
| 6 |  ST MirrenST Mirren | 17 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 22 | 28 | -6 | 21 |
Celtic have so far proved impossible to crack for anyone on league duty and have enjoyed their fare share of success at Tannadice over the years.
However, none of that has come under their current boss. Facts sometimes defy logic, but Rodgers has never faced Dundee United during his managerial career.
Hopefully, the Irishman can claim three points on his debut visit, keeping Celtic comfortably at the top of the league standings.
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