On Saturday Celtic are heading south again, this time to face Kidsgrove Athletic. Kidsgrove are currently sixth in the table on twenty-two points, five points and four places behind second placed Celtic. Kick-off is 3pm.

Kidsgrove set the early pace in the league this season winning their opening seven games after kicking off the season with a 6-2 away win over Northwich. This is still the highest away win of the season. With their first points dropped away at Avro at the end of September they set a league record for most consecutive wins and most consecutive games without a loss. They looked set to run away with the league. They were the team to beat. At the start of October, Newcastle did just that, beating them in Kidsgrove 2-1. Since then, they have had six consecutive losses, also a league record. Their last three home matches have all ended in defeat, most recently Liverpool beating them 3-0. This was their first failure to score all season, but they followed it up with the second in their most recent match, a 2-0 away loss at Widnes. These recent losses have left Kidsgrove rooted to the foot of the form table.

With twenty-nine goals this season, Kidsgrove are now the league’s second top scorers and have the league’s second-best attack behind Leek. The teams around them have eroded their status, with Clitheroe, Runcorn and Celtic all set to overtake them. They have scored an average of 2.1 goals per game (1.9 at home), with thirteen goals at home putting them joint sixth in the home scorers’ table. Josh Thorpe, Aaron Bott and Kieran Knapper are their joint top scorers this season so far, each with four and they have thirteen different scorers. Defensively, they have conceded twenty-five goals, which gives them the fifth worst defence in the league, with eleven coming at home giving them the sixth worst home defence. They have kept on clean sheet, at home to Runcorn at the end of August and concede an average of 1.8 goals per game (1.6 at home).

In Kidsgrove’s last match, the 2-0 away defeat by Widnes, Kidsgrove lined up as:
1. Kieran Harrison
2. Jack Bromfield
3. Nathan Morely
4. Lewis Bergin
5. Harvey Washington
6. Josh Thorpe
7. Kieran Knapper
8. Jimmy Garlick
9. Anthony Malbon
10. Joe Woolley
11. Mason Forms

In Celtic’s last league match, the 4-2 home win over City of Liverpool, Celtic lined up as:
1. Luke Hewitson
2. Pawel Zuk
3. Cole Lonsdale
4. Joe Robbins
5. Connor O’Grady
6. Max Leonard
7. Aaron Dwyer
8. Michael Brewster
9. Darius Osei
10. Jack Irlam
11. Obua Mugalula

Those with good memories may recall Anthony Malbon. He’s something of a cult hero at Kidsgrove after joining from Celtic back in 2014. He’d played five games for us, scoring once, but went onto to score a club record of 159 goals in his first stint with the Grove. He has now rejoined them to help turn their season back around.

Celtic are currently joint top on points. With Prescot at home to Trafford. Should Celtic and Trafford win, we would go clear on top. With the difference between Celtic and Prescot’s goal difference standing at six goals, it would take a record-breaking game to overcome that. In the other direction, both Clitheroe (at home to Leek) and Runcorn (at home to Northwich) are three points behind Celtic and both have a better goal difference (nine to Celtic’s five).