On Saturday, Celtic face FC United of Manchester for the second of our double header. FC United currently top the league on twenty-seven points, twelve points and sixteen places above Celtic. Kick-off 3pm. Tickets are available on the gate or online.

FC United are keeping Hyde off the top spot, on goals scored, level on points and goal difference only, but have scored five more goals. Hyde have two games in hand on them, so FC United cannot afford any slip-ups. They have won five of their eight away matches this season, winning three and losing two of their last five away matches. Their last away match saw them lose 2-1 to Guiseley with their last win in the previous match, beating Marske 2-0. After starting the season with two wins in seven, they went on a seven game unbeaten run that lifted them to their current top spot, though two games without a win has allowed Hyde to catch up.

With twelve goals, Regan Linney is the league’s top scorer and has half of their fifteen away goals, and nearly half of their twenty-seven away goals. They have the league’s third best away attack and the third best away defence, though overall they have the sixth best defence and fourth best attack. They’ve conceded six of their sixteen goals on the road. On average they score 1.7 goals per game with 1.9 of them away, whilst conceding a goal per game with 0.8 of them away. They have failed to score in one away match at Hyde United, and kept four of their five clean sheets away from home.

We’ve met FC United three in the Manchester Cup, beating them 4-3 in 2015 with Darius Osei and Steve Tames both giving Celtic the lead, Matty Hughes equalising and Chris Simm grabbing a winner with ten minutes to go. We also met in the final in 2017, when a rather bizarre win-assisted goal in the opening three minutes handed the cup to FC United, and they put us out of the cup last weekend. In the league, out last win there was in 2016, when Danny Wisdom’s second half goal was enough for the points. That was our only win at their ground. The last meeting between the two sides was a 2-1 win for FC United last season, when Raul Correia grabbed a consolation in stoppage time, following on from a 5-2 win over them at Bower Fold, with two from Marcus Dackers and one each from Jay Fitzmartin, Justin Johnson and Sam Wedgebury.

In FC United’s last match, the 4-1 home win over us in the Manchester Cup, FC United lined up as:
1. Dan Lavercombe
2. Alex Wollerton
3. Guy Hall
4. Luke Griffiths
5. Finlay Armstrong
6. Jan Palinkas
7. Dontal Gabidon
8. Michael Potts
9. Regan Linney
10. Max McCarthy
11. Paul Ennis

In Celtic’s last match, the 4-1 loss away at FC United in the Manchester Cup, Celtic lined up as:
1. Greg Hall
2. Tom Miller
3. Matty Carson
4. Scott Holding
5. Dahrius Waldron
6. Godwin Abadaki
7. Theo Bailey-Jones
8. Moses Yoak
9. Chris Dagnall
10. Domaine Rouse
11. Nathan Caine

The 4-1 score-line flattered FC United and hopefully, we learned more about them, than they did about us, but they are one of the best away teams in the league, so Celtic will have to be on sparkling form.