On Saturday, Celtic will face Kidsgrove Athletic in the league. Kidsgrove are currently thirteenth in the league on thirty-one points, eight places and fourteen points behind fifth placed Celtic. Kick-off is 3pm.

Three wins and a draw from their opening five matches lifted Kidsgrove into the top spots, but a lot of draws has seen them slide down the table. They are the away draw masters this season, with a couple of other teams equalling their five away draws, but nobody bettering it. Away wins is another matter, with only Newcastle registering fewer than Kidsgrove’s one away win. And Kidsgrove had to wait a long time for those three points on the road, getting them in mid-December away at Witton. From a possible thirty-six points away, Kidsgrove have picked up eight. They are by no means bottom of the away form table, but they’re in the bottom five. In their last five away games, Kidsgrove have lost two, won one and drawn two. Most recently, drawing with Congleton.

Matt Rhead is slightly ahead on league goals over Macauley Taylor for the league goals chart at six and five respectively, though Natty Stewart has three in three games to put him right behind on four. Away from home they score an average of 1.3 goals per game (1.5 overall), whilst conceding 1.9 goals per game (1.6 overall). Kidsgrove have kept one clean sheet on the road (a goalless draw with Darlaston), and failed to score four times, most recently against Wythenshawe Town. With sixteen scored away, they are mid-table for away attacks, whilst twenty-three conceded, they are eighth worst for away defence. With seven scored and six conceded in the last five minutes + stoppages, they are not a team to leave early for, though the last time a late goal changed the outcome of the match was at Khalsa back in October, though a stoppage time winner also changed the result when they played us earlier in the season.

Kidsgrove have visited Bower Fold twice, last season and the season before. Celtic won both games. We won 1-0 last season, with Brandon Newell getting the game’s only goal, and 2-1 the season before, with Darius Osei and Joe Edwards scoring either side of a Kidsgrove penalty. Earlier this season, Kidsgrove beat us at their place 2-1, Tunde Owolabi’s opener cancelled out, and a stoppage time winner applied when Celtic over committed looking for a winner themselves.

In Kidsgrove’s last match, the 3-1 home defeat by Nantwich, Athletic lined up as:
1. Ryan Brown
2. Ruben Falding
3. Nathan Morely
4. Henry Brereton
5. Oliver Jepson
6. Josh Thorpe
7. Natty Stewart
8. Jay Ford
9. Isaac Phillips
10. Travis Capey
11. Haydn Lewis

In Celtic’s last match, the 2-0 away win over Atherton, Celtic lined up as: 1. Charlie Monks
2. Mike Koral
3. Kyle Brownhill
4. Aaron Chalmers
5. Jack Byrne
6. Charlie Doyle
7. Andy Scarisbrick
8. Liam Tongue
9. Ruben Jerome
10. Max Leonard
11. Ellis Horan

Jack Irlam will be back for Saturday, giving more options for the manager. Benni Smales-Braithwaite is getting back to fitness, but won’t be available for selection for some time yet.

A win for Celtic could lift us to fourth, if Runcorn lose away at Chasetown, though a win for Chasetown and a loss for Celtic would lift Chasetown above us. Vauxhall and Shifnal are also both within three points of Celtic, but playing each other so a loss could drop us down to seventh.