The Play Offs. All league form goes out of the window when Celtic go to visit Southport on Wednesday for the first leg of the play off semi final (kick off 7:45 pm). Southport finished the season just one place and two points behind Celtic having conceded one less goal, and scored eleven less. There will be a live match centre for this match.

When we visited Haig Avenue earlier in the season, the final score was 3-2 to Celtic, since then, Southport have played five home games, and beaten Alfreton and Leigh in that time, drawing to Boston and Workington, and losing to Kettering. Their home form since the start of the year has been nothing to write home about, but in the play offs, that could easily change and this will be a difficult game in front of a large home contingent. Their away form has been better than their home form, and in their last six away games they have beaten Tamworth, Telford, Hinckley, Nuneaton and Vauxhall, though they did lose to Solihull Moors.

Southport finished the season strongly, and have won their last four games on the trot, restoring them to a play off place after dropping out for the first time in March. A change of manager seems to have been the key to their return to form. Gary Brabin has taken the helm and changed their style of play.

Their top goal scorer this season was Tony Gray, who took the golden boot with eighteen goals. Ex-Celtic wingman Neil Prince was his closest rival with eight goals. On average this season, they scored 1.8 goals per game and conceded a goal per game at home (1.2 overall). On average, they scored their first goal around the thirty-six minute mark and conceded in the fifty-third minute. The start of the second half has been their most dangerous, scoring twenty-one of their seventy-seven goals in the twenty minute spell after the restart. Their most vulnerable period has been the last twenty minutes, when they have conceded seventeen of their fifty goals this season.

They have lost three times at home, but have drawn eight, whilst they lost six on their travels and drew three. Southport have taken six points off Alfreton, Gainsborough, Hinckley, Hucknall, Hyde, Leigh and Vauxhall, but Worcester and Kettering are the only teams that have taken six points off them. They have failed to beat Barrow, Harrogate, Kettering, Redditch, Worcester and, of course, us.

Previous meetings at Haig Avenue have seen Southport win seven of the last thirteen, with Celtic winning four. With Southport having finished with two home wins, and Celtic having finished with two away losses, the automated prediction algorithm is suggesting a 2-1 win for Southport in the first leg, and more worryingly, a 3-1 win for them in the return leg. It is up to Celtic change that prediction.

Southport don?t appear to have any injury worries ahead of the game, and lined up in their last match, the 2-1 away win over Vauxhall Motors as:
1. Steve Drench
2. Chris Lever
3. Paul Barratt
4. Matt Hocking
5. Kevin Lee
6. Chris Holland
7. Mark Duffy
8. Liam Blakeman
9. Neil Robinson
10. Tony Gray
11. Neil Prince

Celtic will be sweating on the fitness of Matty Barlow, who missed Saturday?s last day 6-0 home rout of Redditch United with tonsillitis. Paul Sykes had a strain, and Barrie Keeling had cracked ribs, both of who were also absent. With Celtic already in the play offs, Steve Burr had rested Chris Hall and Steve Torpey, so Celtic lined up as:
1. Paddy Gamble
2. Ashley Woolliscroft
3. Andy Smart
4. Steve Payne
5. Terry Barwick
6. Garry Burke
7. Simon Garner
8. Ashley Winn
9. Lee Ellington
10. James Dean
11. Alex Meechan

With a suspension amnesty, neither team will be worried about cards picked up prior to Wednesday, but with a red card would have an immediate impact, meaning any player picking up a sending off would miss the second leg, and two yellows across the semis would incur a ban for the final.

There is no doubt that the next two games are massive for Celtic. Southport will be going into the home leg as favourites, but Celtic have already beaten the Sandgrounders once at Haig Avenue this season ? can they do it again?