Scout Report: Celtic v Hamilton Academical

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Hope you had a lovely Christmas Day, but for Celtic, it’s back to business.

The Bhoys take on Hamilton Accies at New Douglas Park/Fountain of Youth Stadium/whatever they’re calling it this season, under testing conditions. The recent cold weather will make Hamilton’s plastic pitch that bit more uncomfortable, but there are no excuses.

Celtic absolutely must secure the three points here, in order to make up ground on Rangers. The Gers, for their part, have a tough lunch time clash with Hibs to worry about.

Let’s take a look at today’s opposition.

Recent form: are Celtic under any threat?

Accies are consistently inconsistent. Under Brian Rice, Hamilton fans are never entirely sure what to expect. On the 23rd, they lost to Livingston (Daily Record), but that followed a win over Ross County (BBC). Before that? A 4-0 shellacking from Hibs (BBC), but a 1-0 win over Kilmarnock (SPFL).

The table doesn’t help much (SPFL); yes, they’re second from bottom but a win could see them vault to 8th.

So, overall, it’s very hard to judge this side. Their last real test against one of the ‘big two’ was an 8-0 horsing from Rangers, but their form is so strange and patchy that it’s hard to be definitive. It doesn’t seem to matter whether they’re playing home or away, either.

What to expect tactically

Rice likes his teams to be tactically versatile. He’s set Hamilton up in a variety of ways this season, but in most cases he’s preferred a 4-4-2, with Ogkmpoe and Moyo leading the line.

This time, however, Rice is missing 10 players (Not The Old Firm). Trying to guess who’ll line up for Hamilton today is sort of a fruitless endeavour. That’s a real shame in a sense, because it means we can’t properly assess our opposition before Celtic meet them at 3pm.

There are some things we can take into consideration, though. Firstly, Hamilton have width and they like to use it. In the first half of the season opener, Accies looked quite lively before we started the demolition (SPFL/YouTube). Their goalkeeper will look to spread the play to full-backs, launching attacks through the flanks and providing crosses or cutting inside before the 18-yard-box and attempting the shot.

Their first goal against Ross County is a good example (SPFL/YouTube). Without a crossing option, the ball comes centrally with a numbers advantage. It’s not the cleanest move, no doubt, but it gets the job done. Expect Rice’s boys to look for wide options, with Laxalt/Taylor and Frimpong being kept busy.

Defending in numbers

Hamilton like to keep things congested and compact in defensive scenarios. Fine, it hasn’t worked against Celtic before, but against opposition nearer Accies’ level, they defend in packs and shut off space in the box.

Take, for example, this footage (SPFL/YouTube).

You’ll notice that Hamilton are defending with 5 men in a defensive line, have two men pressing the ball carrier and 3 players watching the Ross County striker off the ball.

Yet, Ross County spray it to their right-back who delivers a pinpoint cross, and the subsequent header requires a good save. They may have bodies in the box, but it doesn’t mean Celtic won’t have plenty of opportunities regardless of the shape Hamilton use.

What Hamilton will want is for Celtic to pass it around in the middle. They’ll flood the edge of the box with defenders and try to cut off any link-up between Griffiths and Eddy. Lennon should look to widen Celtic’s approach play and use their height against Hamilton’s depleted squad.

Overall: Celtic should be winning this comfortably

I’d have liked to have given you a more detailed Scouting Report here, but as we mentioned, Hamilton are lacking in squad numbers and it’s hard to know just who will turn up at The-Stadium-Formerly-Known-as-New-Douglas-Park.

Still, there’s enough from recent form to suggest that Rice will be looking to use a low block, like Ross County and St. Johnstone, flood the middle and look to use their width on the counter. Celtic have the tools to deal with that, and we should hope for another routine win.