On Thursday, New Year's Day, Celtic will host Hyde for the second of the Festive double header. Please note this game is segregated with the Hyde fans taking the far end of the ground. Celtic's match between the two games was frozen off, but the weather looks set to improve over the next few days. Though Hyde played and drew away at Colwyn Bay, it did nothing to improve their position, and they remain rooted to the foot of the table, one place and eight points behind Celtic having played two games more. There will be a match centre for this game.

Hyde have won their last three league visits to Bower Fold, and there has been a recent tradition of the away teams winning in these festive fixtures, including their 7-3 win back in 2007, with Celtic's last league win over Hyde at Bower Fold being back in 2009, when we won 4-1, coming at the end of a long period of dominance of Celtic over our Tameside rivals, they have also won the Ray Stanley Shield at Bower Fold three times in the last ten years. However, with Hyde's recent away record, this is Celtic's chance to regain that dominance that saw us win fifteen out of sixteen meetings between 1999 and 2005. Hyde have yet to win away this season, and haven't had a particularly good away record for the previous two seasons either.

Tom Bentham is their top scorer, with eight goals, four of those coming away from home, which is a third of their total goals scored on the road. They score less than a goal per game away from home, and concede nearly three per game. They have drawn twice away from home, Gloucester City back in September, and Colwyn Bay in their last match. Out of the available thirty-nine points available on the road, they've picked up two. Out of the thirty-three points available to Celtic in their eleven home matches this season, they have won three and drawn one, picking up ten points. Hyde's recent draw wasn't enough to lift them off the bottom of the form table, Celtic's win was enough to lift them to seventeenth.

Hyde should have a full squad to choose from ahead of the New Year's Day game. In their last match, the 3-3 draw (with a last gasp equaliser from loan striker, Ted Cribley), there is no squad listing yet for Hyde, so in their previous match with Celtic on Boxing Day, Hyde lined up as:
1. Connor Hunt
2. Josh Brizell
3. Adam Blakeman
4. Alex McQuade
5. Matt Flynn
6. Kevin Lomax
7. Connor Hughes
8. Luke Giverin
9. Tom Bentham
10. Ted Cribley
11. Louis Almond

Celtic didn't face Chorley midweek, so come straight into the game fresh from beating Hyde. We will still be without Liam Dickinson, who still has four games left to serve on his red card ban, whilst Nathan Heath and George Lomax will both need assessing before seeing if they will be fit to play. In our last match, the 4-2 away win over Hyde, Celtic lined up as:
1. Lewis King
2. Kelvin Bleau
3. Matt Regan
4. Todd Jordan
5. Matty Hughes
6. Stefan Galinski
7. James Cadman
8. Scott Kerr
9. Dominic Calvert-Lewin
10. Paul Ennis
11. Kevin Holsgrove

Celtic are now in a position to break out of the bottom three should we beat Hyde, we are two points behind Gloucester, and one behind Bradford Park Avenue, who are the two teams above us. This is welcome news indeed.

Other games on New Year's Day:
Barrow (46pts 2nd) v AFC Fylde (46pts 1st)
Brackley Town (23pts 18th) v Gloucester City (21pts 19th)
Bradford Park Avenue (20pts 20th) v Chorley (38pts 4th)
Colwyn Bay (27pts 13th) v Stockport County (33pts 10th)
Guiseley (42pts 3rd) v Harrogate Town (27pts 14th)
Hednesford Town (30pts 12th) v Worcester City (33pts 9th)
Lowestoft Town (27pts 15th) v Boston United (34pts 7th)
North Ferriby United (32pts 11th) v Gainsborough Trinity (25pts 16th)
Oxford City (34pts 8th) v Leamington FC (23pts 17th)
Tamworth (36pts 6th) v Solihull Moors (37pts 5th)