On Saturday, Celtic host Bootle in a league match. Bootle are currently ninth on nineteen points, six places and three points behind Celtic having played two more games.

Bootle have lost four games this season, won five and drawn four. Away from home, they are unbeaten, and have one of the best away records in the league. Only Bury have conceded fewer, and only Bootle and Bury have never lost away. Bootle have scored more away goals, though, and have picked up more points per game on the road than any other team. At home, they have won two, drawn two, and lost four. Their most recent game was at home to Atherton, marking their first home win since August. Their last two away matches saw them draw 0-0 with Stafford and beat Vauxhall Motors 1-0.

Three clean sheets on the road have given Bootle an average conceding rate of just 0.4 goals per game (1.3 overall), whilst they have failed to score once on their travels with a goals per away game of 1.2 (1.3 overall). Most of their goals are scored in the second half, with a spike around the seventy-minute mark. They concede most frequently around the hour mark. Late goals are not something Bootle have excelled in this season, with only two results changed with a late goal, grabbing a draw at home to Kidsgrove and a winner at home to Avro.

In the league, we’ve met Bootle four times. At Bower Fold, the two games were a 2-1 win in the last meeting at Bower Fold (Matty Bryan and Sean Tse with the goals), and a 1-1 draw in the previous one (Obua Mugalula scoring Celtic’s only goal). At Bootle there have been goal-fests, with the last meeting between the two clubs finishing 5-2 to Bootle, whilst the previous meeting finished 4-0 to Celtic. In cup competitions, we’ve met twice, beating them on penalties in the FA Trophy back in 2021, and knocking them out of the FA Cup after a replay forced us to go to Bootle, but going on to win 3-1 back in 1993.

In Bootle’s last match, the 2-1 home win over Atherton Collieries, Bootle lined up as:
1. Tony Thompson
2. Jay Roberts
3. Ethan Goldbourne
4. Mathew Fenton
5. Tom Hannigan
6. Lewis Earl
7. Sam Hughes
8. Jack Lenehan
9. Dior Angus
10. Joe Woolley
11. Ben Hodkinson

In Celtic’s last match, the 3-1 away win over Clitheroe, Celtic lined up as:
1. Charlie Monks
2. Jordan Butterworth
3. Kyle Brownhill
4. Charlie Doyle
5. Jack Byrne
6. Sean Tse
7. Brandon Newell
8. Liam Tongue
9. Benni Smales-Braithwaite
10. Tunde Owolabi
11. Ellis Horan

Rube Jerome should be fit to play some part in Saturday’s match, whilst Jack Tinning, Mike Koral and Jack Irlam will require a fitness test.

Bury (away at Sporting Khalsa) and Lower Breck (away at Wythenshawe) are both above Celtic in the table, but only by a point, so if they both fail to win, and Celtic do win, Celtic would go top again. Avro (at home to Kidsgrove) are on the same points as Celtic, and Chasetown (at home to Mossley) are two behind, so a loss for Celtic and wins for those two, could see us drop to fifth.