Celtic have another chance to put their recent run of poor results behind them, but face stiff opposition when high-flying Boston United visit the Fold on Saturday. Boston are currently in seventh, four places and two points ahead of Celtic.

The ex-league club was relegated out of division two, and barred from entry into the Blue Square Premier, dropping straight through into the Blue Square North. After a rocky start to life in this league, with just one win in five matches, the team beloved of Soccer AM has gone unbeaten in their last five. Their home form is what has propelled them to just outside the play-offs, with their away form seeing them win just one match away from York Street, and that at Solihull Moors. They have, however, drawn their last two away matches, both 2-2, at Leigh and Nuneaton.

Our last meeting with Boston was back in our last stint in the Conference National, when they visited Bower Fold in January 2002. Celtic were victorious that day, and indeed, in Boston's only other visit, back in 1992, when we again beat them 2-1. Our visits to York Street have seen us draw one, and lose one. One thing all four games have in common is that both sides have always scored. The automated prediction algorithm has put the last four games behind Celtic and gone for a 3-2 win this time.

Boston have one of the best attacks in the league, and have scored thirty goals so far this season, with John Froggatt leading the line with six goals. They are scoring an average of 1.5 goals per game away from home (1.8 overall), whilst conceding two goals per game (1.5 overall). The average time of their first goal is forty-four minutes, whilst the average time of their first concession is forty-three minutes. They have yet to keep a clean sheet away from home, and only twelve of their thirty goals have come on the road. Most of their scoring is done in the second half, with eight in the last five minutes, whilst they concede mostly just before half time (seven) and just before full time (nine).

Boston's last opponents were Hucknall Town, a team who have really turned their season around because they beat Boston 3-2 at York Street, the first time that Boston had been beaten at home this season. In that match, Boston lined up as:
1. Lee Crockett
2. Tom Matthews
3. Matt Bloomer
4. Paul Ellender
5. Adam Smith
6. Ashley Nicholls
7. Stewart Talbot
8. Jon Rowan
9. Kieran Leabon
10. Jon Froggatt
11. Jon Stevenson

Mark Haran is suspended for the match (definitely this time!), although he has sat out the last two matches. In Celtic's last match, the 3-2 defeat at home to Vauxhall Motors in the Cheshire Senior Cup, Celtic lined up as:
1. Paddy Gamble
2. Ashley Woolliscroft
3. Simon Garner
4. Steve Payne
5. Terry Barwick
6. Paul Sykes
7. Carlos Roca
8. Ashley Winn
9. Lee Ellington
10. Alex Meechan
11. Adam Oakes

This is a game Celtic can (and must) win, and put their season back on track after exiting three cups in the past four weeks, and dropping four places in the table. It is time to show that it was just a blip and get back to winning ways.