Celtic’s FA Cup journey starts on Saturday when we travel to Runcorn Linnets. Kick off 3pm. Runcorn have won one and lost one this season, and currently sit in tenth, one point and five places below Celtic in the table.

Runcorn lost their opening match at home to Chasetown, losing 2-1. Thanks to a stoppage time penalty, they took all three points in Bootle when they played City of Liverpool in their most recent match. All their goals so far this season have come in the second half, four in total scored by four different players. So far, they have scored four and conceded four.

Last season, Runcorn finished in the last spot of the play-offs, finishing fifth on sixty-three points. Only Macclesfield and Workington lost fewer home matches, with Linnets losing five games and drawing four. With ten home wins, they had the fifth highest home win ratio. They won eighteen of their thirty-eight matches, drawing nine and losing eleven. With fifty-eight goals, they had the sixth highest attack, but conceding thirty-eight gave them the second best defence in the league.

Our previous three competitive meetings with Linnets were all in the Cheshire Senior Cup, with honours even. Celtic won 2-1 at Bower Fold back in 2013, with goals from Corey Gregory and Mitchell Austin. In 2019, in our last visit to Runcorn, the game finished 1-1 after Scott Bakkor opened the scoring, but former Celt Kurt Sherlock equalised in stoppage time to put the games into penalties. When Glenn Rule saw his penalty saved, Runcorn scored all five and went through. In the last meeting between the two sides at Bower Fold, Runcorn went through after scoring the game’s only goal in the opening attack in a controversial goal that saw Alex Downes score at the expense of Raul Correia, who went to hospital.

In Runcorn’s last match, the 3-2 away win over City of Liverpool, Runcorn lined up as: 1. Bayleigh Passant
2. Harry Hagan
3. James Short
4. Jacques Welsh
5. Sean O’Mahony
6. Anthony Kay
7. Will Saxon
8. Joe Lynch
9. Levi Chiduku
10. Lewis Doyle
11. Kenny Brown

In Celtic’s last match, the goalless draw at home to 1874 Northwich, Celtic lined up as: 1. Elliot Wynne
2. Michael Brewster
3. Jordan Burton
4. Brandon Newell
5. Connor O’Grady
6. Greg Wilkinson
7. Brad Byrne
8. Charlie Doyle
9. Matty Bryan
10. Max Harrop
11. Aaron Dwyer

Celtic will be without Elliot Wynne on Saturday after his red card against Hanley Town.