Match Preview :- Lancaster City - Monday January 1st, 2018 (15:00:00)

On New Year's Day, weather permitting, Celtic host Lancaster City. Lancaster are currently thirteenth with thirty-four points, fourteen points and ten places above Celtic, though they have played a game more. There will be a Match Centre and Twitter Feed for this game.

After a good start to the season that saw Lancaster lose only once in eleven matches, since then, they have lost six times in twelve matches, winning four and drawing two. This has seen them drop out of the top ten, to their current position. In eleven matches away from home, they have won three and lost five, drawing three. Their last win was away from home, when they beat Mickleover, which was also their last away game. Since they, they have lost at home to Workington and Hednesford. In their last five away games, they have won two and lost three.

Lancaster's top scorer is Craig Carney, who is just ahead with six goals, and Lancaster have had fifteen goal scorers this season, netting thirty-eight goals. Away from home they have scored thirteen (a third of their goals), at a rate of 1.2 per game (1.6 overall), whilst they have conceded twenty of their thirty-two goals away from home (two thirds of their conceded goals), at a rate of 1.8 goals per game (1.4 overall). They have kept four clean sheets on the road, and failed to score in three.

Lancaster's last visit to Bower Fold was in 2007, when we beat them 3-1, with a Lee Ellington hat-trick. Lancaster last won at Bower Fold in 2003, when they beat us 3-0. In their last ten visits, they have had just that one win, whilst Celtic have won eight and drawn once, we have won in their last four visits, and our best result was in the League Cup back in 2001 when we won 11-0, with Steve Pickford and Matty McNeil both getting hat-tricks.

In Lancaster's last match, their 1-0 home defeat to Hednesford Town, they lined up as:
1. Chris Cheetham
2. Rob Henry
3. Gavin Clark
4. Simon Wills
5. Glenn Steel
6. Richard Mercer
7. Ryan Winder
8. Craig Carney
9. Steve Williams
10. Thomas Kilifin
11. Paul Jarvis

In Celtic's last match, the 2-1 home defeat to Rushall Olympic, Celtic lined up as:
1. James Coates
2. Danny Morton
3. Alex Honeyball
4. Sam Sheridan
5. Luke Ashworth
6. Ross Killock
7. Theo Bailey-Jones
8. Oliver Roberts
9. Liam Dickinson
10. Matthew Wolfenden
11. Connor Hughes

Celtic need a win with our last league win in October over Barwell at the end of a spate of home wins. We currently have plenty of games in hand, thanks to postponements, and Celtic need to put 2017 behind them. In 2017 we won 19 and drawn 9 games of 59 games, and need a change of fortune.

Other games on New Year's Day:
Altrincham (53pts 1st) v Witton Albion (37pts 10th)
Barwell (32pts 15th) v Nantwich Town (26pts 19th)
Buxton (38pts 8th) v Ashton United (42pts 6th)
Farsley Celtic (40pts 7th) v Shaw Lane (43pts 3rd)
Grantham Town (42pts 5th) v Matlock Town (32pts 16th)
Hednesford Town (38pts 9th) v Stafford Rangers (32pts 17th)
Mickleover Sports (35pts 12th) v Coalville Town (33pts 14th)
Stourbridge (35pts 11th) v Rushall Olympic (29pts 18th)
Sutton Coldfield Town (20pts 24th) v Halesowen Town (24pts 22nd)
Warrington Town (43pts 4th) v Marine (26pts 20th)
Workington (46pts 2nd) v Whitby Town (26pts 21st)

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