On Saturday, Celtic are back in league action when we travel to Solihull Moors (kick off 3pm, there will be a live match centre for this game). Solihull are currently fifteenth in league, nine places and nine points behind Celtic having played four games more.

Solihull have been on something of a run recently, and are unbeaten in four matches. They had won just four matches in the run up to this, beating Burscough away and Farsley, Vauxhall and Droylsden at home, and had lost eleven in this nineteen game run. Recently, they have beaten Blyth and Redditch at home, and drawn Redditch and Gainsborough away. Their last home defeat was 2-0 at the hands of Southport, but they have also been beaten by Gainsborough and Stafford at home. They have played eleven games at home this season, drawn three, lost three and won five, and in their last eight home games, have only lost once.

In our last three meetings with the Birmingham based outfit we have won all three, scoring thirteen goals and conceding none. Our last visit to Damson Park saw us score four without reply. In the preceding six matches, things were more even with Solihull beating us home and away in January and September of the 06/07 season, and with three draws. Our last meeting was in September, and has been one of two home wins this season when we thumped them 5-0, still a league record home win. Solihull have beaten us just once in their own ground.

Solihull's most dangerous player is Jake Edwards, who has five goals this season, with Liam Daly just behind him on four. Their most dangerous period is the opening twenty minutes when they have scored six of their twenty-three goals this season, whilst the last twenty minutes are their most vulnerable, when they have conceded thirteen of their forty two goals. With eighteen goals scored and sixteen conceded at home, they are definitely better at Damson Park than away from it. Overall they score a goal per game, but have 1.6 at home, whilst they concede 1.8 per game, but only 1.4 at home. Solihull hold the current league record for the longest conceding run, conceding at least one goal in fifteen consecutive matches, starting in August, and ending with their 2-0 home win over Blyth in December. Two clean sheets on the trot (a 0-0 away draw with Redditch) brings their total number of clean sheets up to three. They have failed to score in ten matches, but only two of those came at home against Stafford and Southport.

Solihull have two players suspended for the match on Saturday: Junior English and Liam Daly. They have brought in James McPike and James O'Brien on loan from Birmingham City and Charlie Reece on loan from Bristol City, whilst Peter Faulds may or not be ready after recuperating from appendicitis, and Simon Travis and Jake Edwards will need fitness tests after picking up ankle injuries in Solihull's recent Senior Cup match. In their last match, a 3-1 defeat at home to Rushall in the Birmingham Senior Cup, Solihull lined up as:
1. Daniel Crane
2. Jake Sedgemore
3. Simon Travis
4. Lee Collins
5. Theo Streete
6. Charlie Reece
7. Junior English
8. Simon Price
9. Jake Edwards
10. James McPike
11. Carl Motteram

Celtic welcomed back Paul Sykes in Saturday's away defeat in the Trophy against Ebbsfleet United (albeit on the bench), giving them a clean bill of health ahead of Saturday's clash. We have no players suspended giving Steve Burr a selection headache of the good kind. In Tuesday night's clash with Ebbsfleet, Celtic lined up as:
1. Paul Phillips
2. Ashley Woolliscroft
3. Rhys Meynell
4. Andy Smart
5. Terry Barwick
6. Barrie Keeling
7. Steve Torpey
8. Keith Briggs
9. Lee Ellington
10. Nathan Joynes
11. Matty Barlow

The automated prediction algorithm has gone for a 3-1 win for Celtic in this match, and with a good performance, it will be a fitting way to end the mammoth consecutive away game stretch, which will have been eight games by the final whistle. With Hinckley failing to take advantage of their extra game on us when they were beaten by Gainsborough on Tuesday, we remain in sixth, level on points with Gainsborough, with Alfreton, Hinckley and Farsley all poised to overtake us should we slip up. Although we have three games in hand on Harrogate who occupy fifth, they are four points ahead of us, and we would not get into the top five on Saturday whatever the result, but with Harrogate faltering and away at Alfreton, we could catch them up, and perhaps overtake them on Tuesday, still with a game in hand.

Other games on Saturday:
Telford United v Hyde United
Alfreton Town v Harrogate Town
Blyth Spartans v Fleetwood Town
Droylsden v Gateshead
Farsley Celtic v King's Lynn
Hinckley United v Vauxhall Motors
Stafford Rangers v Burscough
Tamworth v Hucknall Town
Workington v Gainsborough Trinity

It is likely that the four teams around us, Alfreton, Hinckley, Gainsborough and Farsley will all pick up points this weekend, so a good result is vital.