On Saturday, Celtic face Widnes in the Emirates FA Cup. Widnes are currently unbeaten, sitting in fifth in the NPL West, four places and two points behind Celtic. Kick off 3pm.

Last season, Widnes finished ninth, three places and four points above Celtic on 57 points, having won three more games, though they also lost two more than Celtic. In James Steele and Sean Miller, they had two top goal-scorers, finishing joint ninth with 14 goals each. They had the sixth best away defence, and the 10th best away attack. They scored their sixty goals at an average of 1.6 goals per game, with a 1.3 average away from home, 24 goals coming on the road. Defensively, they conceded their 43 goals at a rate of 1.1 goals per game, with 26 coming away, at a rate of 1.4 goals per game. Four of their eight clean sheets came on the road, whilst five of their eight failures to score came away.

This season, Widnes have started strongly, beating Kidsgrove 3-0 on the opening day. Their only away game so far this season saw them draw 2-2 with Runcorn Linnets. Their last away win was a 3-0 victory over Kidsgrove at the end of last season, whilst their last away loss was a 2-3 defeat by Runcorn. The two teams they’ve played already this season.

We’ve met Widnes twice. The last meeting at the end of last season saw us win 4-3 in a ding-dong match that saw Widnes go ahead by two goals within ten minutes. Celtic fought back to equalise by half time thanks to a brace from Max Leonard, and went ahead at the end of the second half with Cole Lonsdale’s free-kick, only for Widnes to equalise with seconds left of normal time, Sean Miller converting from the spot. Celtic eventually won, again from the spot, when Lonsdale converted deep into stoppages. The previous game in Widnes had less excitement, finishing 1-1 with both goals coming in the last fifteen minutes, Darius Palma signing off with a penalty conversion and Stephen Milne with a wonder goal to equalise.

In Widnes’s last match, the 2-2 draw away at Runcorn, Widnes lined up as:
1. Mark Halstead
2. Jack Walls
3. Matty Rain
4. Louis Isherwood
5. Niall Battersby
6. Ben Rydel
7. Steve Irwin
8. Sharif Denis
9. James Steele
10. Sean Miller
11. Nathan Caine

In Celtic’s last match, the 5-0 away win over Atherton, Celtic lined up as: 1. Charlie Monks

2. Javid Swaby-Neavin
3. Kyle Brownhill
4. Jordan Butterworth
5. Danny Lafferty
6. Aaron Chalmers
7. Jack Bannister
8. Liam Tongue
9. Connor Hughes
10. Jack Irlam
11. Matty Bryan

It’s a break from the league, but with a place in the next round up for grabs in the FA Cup, Celtic need to advance as far as possible. With one round already under our belt and the game at home, Celtic might have the edge, but this will be Celtic’s toughest test yet.