- 1 Motherwell vs Celtic: two losing runs collide at Fir Park
- 2 Motherwell: a bright start undone by seven goals conceded in three games
- 3 Celtic: three straight defeats, but the visitors were winning everything before Rangers
- 4 Free Football Prediction: Motherwell vs Celtic
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
Motherwell vs Celtic: two losing runs collide at Fir Park 
Something has to give at Fir Park on Sunday. Motherwell have lost their last three league games. Celtic have lost their last three matches in all competitions. The two meet at 13:00 Paris time in round eight of the Scottish Premiership, and both dressing rooms will be desperate for a reaction.
The contexts aren’t the same, though. Motherwell’s slide has dragged them down to eighth on eight points, just two clear of 11th-placed Falkirk and three above Kilmarnock at the foot of the table. They’ve conceded seven and scored once across those three defeats.
Celtic’s slump is more about who beat them. Rangers won 3-0 in the League Cup quarter-final, Ferencvaros won 3-1 at Celtic Park in the Europa League, and then Rangers came back to Parkhead and won 1-0 in the league. Painful, yes. But all three came against serious opposition, and before that run Celtic had won five straight league games.
Martin O’Neill is still under scrutiny, and it isn’t only about the last fortnight. The 5-1 collapse against LASK Linz in the Champions League qualifiers, after a 4-0 first-leg lead, hasn’t been forgotten by anyone in Glasgow.
Here’s the key thing about this fixture, though: Celtic almost always win it. They’ve lost just one of their last 38 meetings with Motherwell, and across the last 50 they’ve won 39. That lone defeat came on 30 December 2025, a 2-0 Motherwell win at Fir Park, which shows it can happen. It just doesn’t happen often.
Is this the week the pattern breaks? The numbers say probably not.
Motherwell: a bright start undone by seven goals conceded in three games 
It started so well. Alfred Johansson’s Motherwell went unbeaten through their first six competitive matches, four wins and two draws, and looked like one of the early stories of the Scottish season.
Then the wheels came off. A 1-0 League Cup defeat at Stenhousemuir was the first warning, followed by two losses to Freiburg in the Conference League play-off round, including a 4-1 defeat in Germany. A 3-3 draw at St Mirren and a 3-0 win over Dundee United steadied things briefly.
The last three league games have been rough. A 1-0 loss at Rangers was respectable enough. A 4-0 home defeat to Aberdeen wasn’t, and a 2-1 loss at Dundee before the break made for uncomfortable reading. One goal in three games, seven conceded.
The injury list doesn’t help. Callum Hendry, Johnny Koutroumbis, Jordan McGhee, Paul McGinn and Oscar Priestman are all expected to miss out, which strips experience from both ends of the pitch. Johansson may change his attacking shape to find some spark, with Maswanhise and Charles-Cook among the options.
The home numbers aren’t terrible on the surface. Across their last ten games, Motherwell have kept clean sheets in 60% of home matches and conceded 1.4 goals a game at Fir Park. But they’ve also failed to score in 40% of their last ten. That’s a problem against a team that will have most of the ball.
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Celtic: three straight defeats, but the visitors were winning everything before Rangers 
Before the losing run, Celtic’s league form was close to spotless. A 5-1 win at Kilmarnock, then 2-1 against Falkirk, 3-0 against Aberdeen, 2-1 at St Mirren and 1-0 at St Johnstone. Five league wins on the bounce.
That’s the side O’Neill needs back. The tactical experiment against Rangers, a switch to a back three in a 3-4-2-1, didn’t work, and a return to the more familiar 4-2-3-1 is expected at Fir Park.
Kasper Hogh is fit again and pushing to lead the line, with Haissem Hassan likely to start out wide. Camilo Duran is back from international duty. Callum McGregor remains the metronome in midfield, and with Carter-Vickers and Tierney in the back line, there’s real experience in the spine of this team.
There are absences. Alistair Johnston, Callum Osmand and Jota are out injured, while Benjamin Nygren is a doubt with a virus. Losing Johnston takes something away down the right, although Celtic’s depth should cover it against this opponent.
Away from home, Celtic have won three of their last five and averaged 1.6 goals per game on their travels. Credit where it’s due: even in a sticky spell, they’ve failed to score in only 20% of their last ten matches. Against a Motherwell side leaking goals, that’s the stat that matters most.
Probable lineup Motherwell: Paulsen; Sparrow, Girdwood-Reich, Moormann, Longelo; Fadinger, Hodge; Maswanhise, Lowry, Vogt; Charles-Cook
Probable lineup Celtic: Sinisalo; Donovan, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Tierney; McGregor, Baur; Hassan, Tounekti, Duran; Hogh
Free Football Prediction: Motherwell vs Celtic
Our prediction: Celtic to win (odds around 1.60)
Celtic’s three defeats came against Rangers twice and a Ferencvaros side playing in Europe. Motherwell’s three defeats came against Rangers, Aberdeen and Dundee. That difference matters. One team has hit a rough patch against strong opposition, the other has been beaten by sides around them in the table.
The head-to-head record backs it up. One defeat in 38 meetings, and Celtic won both games against Motherwell last season after December’s loss. With Motherwell missing five players and scoring once in three games, the visitors should have enough to stop their own slide.
Celtic to win at around 1.60 is our pick. If you want a little more value, both teams to score “No” at around 2.45 makes sense too, given Motherwell’s recent struggles in front of goal. We’re expecting something close to 0-2.
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