PREVIEW: Celtic kick-off Scottish Premiership split at Falkirk

PREVIEW: Celtic kick-off Scottish Premiership split at Falkirk

Glasgow Celtic will kick off the post-split action in Scotland’s top flight on Saturday when they travel to Falkirk, hoping to go level with league leaders Hearts ahead of Sunday’s Edinburgh derby.

Celtic currently find themselves third in the table, but still very much embroiled in this year’s enthralling title race, sitting two points behind cross-city rivals Rangers and three behind Hearts. However, if The Hoops are going to lift their 56th league title this season, they will have to overcome a noticeable goal difference gap; their goal difference is currently 24, whilst Hearts’ and Rangers’ are 30 and 34, respectively. Should they win the league, it will be their fifth consecutive title and a 14th in the last 15 years.

Falkirk are no pushovers, however, especially at their own ground, where they have picked up 23 points from 17 games so far this term. Similarly, Celtic have been strong on the road, picking up 30 points from 17 games, second only to Rangers, who have amassed 31. The Bairns were promoted as champions from the Scottish Championship last season, three points ahead of Livingston, who went up via the play-offs.

John McGlynn has been in charge of Falkirk since May 2022, managing 183 games in that time with an impressive 60% win rate that has seen his side enjoy a rapid rise from League One to the top flight with back-to-back promotions and now a top-half finish in the Premiership. Meanwhile, Martin O’Neill has taken the reigns at Celtic on two seperate occasions this season when replacing both Brendan Rodgers and Wilfried Nancy.

Saturday will be the fifth meeting between these two sides this season, with Celtic winning every encounter up to this point by an aggregate scoreline of 10-1. However, they only managed a 1-0 win when they visited Falkirk in January, a game that saw Benjamin Nygren net the winner from close range. This weekend’s clash will take place at 5:30pm (UK time) on Saturday, April 25th.