On Tuewday night Celtic face our perennial thorn, Guiseley (kick off 7:45pm). Guiseley are currently just outside the top spots in sixth on nineteen points, eleven places and eight points ahead of Celtic. There will be a match centre for this game.
Gusieley have had a cracking start to the season, with five wins and five draws, losing only twice to Gloucester (4-1) and Gainsborough (3-1), with both games at home. This means that thus far this season, they have never lost away from home. They had an opening day 1-0 win away at Leamington, followed up with a goalless draw at Fylde, a 3-0 win over Brackley and a 1-1 draw at Tamworth. The goalless draw at Fylde is the only time that they have failed to score this season, and they have kept six clean sheets, three of them on the road. Indeed, their four consecutive clean sheets at the start of the season is currently a league record and gives them the second best defence in the league behind Fylde, and level with Chorley.
Last season, they made it into the play-off spots after a poor start, and look set to finish in the play-offs again. They had seventy-eight points, and finished fifth level on points and goal-difference with Hednesford, but didn't quite score as many goals. They were thirty-seven points and fourteen places ahead of Celtic. Celtic have beaten Guiseley only once in the last fifteen meetings, in March 2000, when we won 2-1. Since then, Guiseley have knocked us out of the Trophy twice and the FA Cup once, and have won three of their last five visits to Bower Fold. Last season, they beat us home and away winning 3-1 at Nethermoor Park and 3-2 at Bower Fold.
Guiseley scraped a draw in their last match with a contentious late penalty against Tamworth, with the game finishing 2-2. Forward Josh Wilson was injured in that match and is a doubt for Tuesday's match. In the 2-2 home draw with Tamworth match Guiseley lined up as:
1. Steve Drench
2. Andy Holdsworth
3. Ben Parker
4. Danny Lowe
5. Danny Ellis
6. Jake Lawlor
7. Wayne Brooksby
8. Danny Boshell
9. Adam Boyes
10. Josh Wilson
11. Gavin Rothery
It was a welcome return to Matty Mainwaring who managed the whole ninety minutes in Celtic's last match, the 1-0 away defeat to Brackley, Celtic lined up as:
1. Lewis King
2. Oliver Crowley
3. Mike Williams
4. Matty Hughes
5. Matt Regan
6. Kelvin Bleau
7. Ben McKenna
8. Matty Mainwaring
9. Anthony Malbon
10. Paul Ennis
11. Liam Dickinson
Celtic have now won two out of the last ten, and have three consecutive defeats, and are desperately in need of a win, so coming up against our nemesis will make that task all the harder. A win would only lift us a couple of places, but a loss could see us fall into the bottom three.
Other matches this week: