The festivities kick off on Saturday when Boston United are the visitors (kick off 3pm). Boston are currently eighth in the table, five places and eight points ahead of Celtic, having played a game less. They are two points off a play-off place, and will be looking to get into the top five ahead of their festive fixtures. There will be a match centre for this game.
Boston have been in and out of the play offs all season, attaining second a few weeks ago, but with only two wins in the last five games, they have dropped down to their current eighth spot. This shows how tight it is at the top this season. It has been Boston's away form this season that has let them down. They have had three wins out nine on the road to Gainsborough, Gloucester and Stockport. At home, however, only Bradford have beaten them this season.
Boston's top scorer this season is Marc Newsham, whose eleven goals puts him in the top five goal scorers in the league (Sean McConville's seven goals puts him tenth). Boston have failed to score twice this season, both on the road to Guiseley (in their most recent game) and to North Ferriby back in August. At home they have scored in every game. The Pilgrims have kept just one clean sheet on the road, against Gainsborough. They concede more in the first half, with fourteen of their twenty-four conceded goals coming in this period, but they score far more in the second half with twenty-three of their thirty-three goals coming after the interval.
We do have a good record against Boston at Bower Fold, although Boston won in their last visit here last season with a 1-0 win, this is their only win here. Out of the five visits, Celtic have won four, the most recent being a 3-0 win in December 2011. The most recent encounter between the two teams was in February when Celtic came away from Lincolnshire with a 2-2 draw.
Boston's last game saw them lose out in the FA Trophy to Tamworth, but in their last league game, the 1-0 defeat away at Guiseley, Boston lined up as:
1. Lewis King
2. Liam Marrs
3. Scott Garner
4. Carl Piergianni
5. Rene Steer
6. Ian Ross
7. Conor Marshall
8. Jake Hall
9. Spencer Weir-Daley
10. Ricky Miller
11. Marc Newsham
Celtic were without Adam Pepper through illness in our last match, the 4-1 defeat away at Hednesford. In that match, Celtic lined up as:
1. Aaron Jameson
2. Kelvin Bleau
3. Andy McWilliams
4. James Tunnicliffe
5. Kristian Platt
6. Prince Haywood
7. Tom Buckley
8. Keith Briggs
9. Phil Marsh
10. Sean McConville
11. Conal Platt
A win for Celtic could lift us back into the top ten, whilst a loss could see us drop a place to fourteenth. There is a full fixture list this Saturday. Other games this Saturday are:
AFC Telford (34pts 5th) v Brackley Town (36pts 3rd)
Barrow (12pts 22nd) v Solihull Moors (34pts 4th)
Gloucester City (16pts 19th) v Gainsborough Trinity (21pts 14th)
Guiseley (28pts 9th) v Altrincham (32pts 7th)
Histon (19pts 17th) v Bradford Park Avenue (25pts 10th)
Leamington FC (20pts 15th) v Workington (13pts 21st)
North Ferriby United (26pts 2nd) v Colwyn Bay (24pts 12th)
Stockport County (16pts 18th) v Oxford City (19pts 16th)
Vauxhall Motors (25pts 11th) v Hednesford Town (38pts 1st)
Worcester City (13pts 20th) v Harrogate Town (32pts 6th)