Today, Celtic host Stafford Rangers at Bower Fold. Stafford are currently 13th on 40 points, four places and five points ahead of Celtic. Kick-off is 3pm.

After winning four and drawing one of their opening five games, Stafford hit the top spot at the end of August, however, two wins in the next 11 matches with four losses, saw them tumble down the rankings. 

Since we last played them in November, Stafford played 15 matches, winning four and drawing one, losing the other 10. 

Thanks to their excellent start, they have only fallen to midtable. 

Their last win on the road was in November, the game before they lost to us, when they beat Lancaster 2-1, coincidentally, their last match was a 2-1 win over Lancaster, but at home. 

During those six away matches between the two Lancaster games, they have lost them all, most recently losing 4-0 at Guiseley.

Kaimon Anderson is leading their league goal scorer chart with nine goals, though Tom Tonks is right behind them on eight, six of which came from the spot, including two penalties in the last two games. 

They have the worst away attack in the league, scoring 12 of their 38 goals on the road, with their last away goal scored in a 2-1 loss at Belper Town at the start of the year. They score at an average of 0.8 goals per away game (1.2 overall) and have failed to score six times on the road and twice at home. 

Stafford’s away defence is the seventh worst in the league, conceding their 24 away goals at an average of 1.6 goals per game, and have conceded a total of 45 goals at a rate of 1.4 goals per game, keeping two of their seven clean sheets on the road.

In the last 30 years, we’ve played Stafford 25 times. The last meeting between the two sides saw Celtic win 3-0 in Staffordshire, with goals from Nathan Caine and a brace from Raul Correia.

Their last win over Celtic was at Marston Road last season in February when they won 2-0. 

Their last visit to Bower Fold was in October 2021 when Celtic won 2-1 thanks to a brace from Marcus Dackers. Stafford’s last win here was in October 2019, when they won 3-0. 

In their 15 visits to Bower Fold, Celtic have won six, Stafford have won four and there have been three draws. Over their last seven visits, they have won one and Celtic have won four.

In Stafford’s last match, the 2-1 home win over Lancaster, Stafford lined up as:

1. Cameron Belford

2. Andrew Burns

3. Joe Dunne

4. Alex Ray Harvey

5. Ethan Stewart

6. James O’Neil

7. Joe Kenton

8. Thomas Tonks

9. Kaimon Anderson

10. Joe Willis

11. Jack Baxter

In Celtic’s last league match, the 2-3 home loss to Matlock, Celtic lined up as:

1. Greg Hall

2. Jacob Lara

3. Ben Richardson

4. Kyle Harrison

5. Dahrius Waldron

6. Tom Miller

7. DJ Pedro

8. Ethan Padden

9. Raul Correia

10. Chris Dagnall

11. Domaine Rouse

Raheem Hanley, Theo Bailey-Jones, Nathan Caine and Ciaran Summers all missed the last match through injury.

A win for Celtic could put us 14th, with Ashton (home to Gainsborough), Lancaster (home to Whitby), and Atherton (away at Bamber Bridge) within reach. Morpeth are at home to Nantwich and one of them could overtake us should we lose, dropping Celtic to 18th.