Motherwell

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Tom Sparrow says being pitched in for his first Motherwell start against Celtic will stand him in good stead as the Steelmen prepare to face the other half of the Old Firm for a place in the League Cup fnal.

The midfielder returned from minor surgery to line up alongside Marvin Kaleta - who was also making his first start - in Sunday's 3-0 home defeat to the champions.

Sparrow had a chance to open the scoring but could not beat Kasper Schmeichel from 20 yards before Celtic took control of the game.

Motherwell have a league trip to Dundee United on Wednesday before heading to Hampden on Sunday for the semi-final showdown with Rangers.

Wales Under-21 international Sparrow said: "I've been working hard since I came in and I knew that I wouldn't be going straight in. But I'm happy to have got the first one and hopefully there's more to come.

"I knew it was going to be a lot of running. But they're top-quality opposition so when you've got the ball you need to look after it, because otherwise you're going to spend a lot of time without it.

"I thought that they had a lot of the ball but at times we weren't bad either and definitely caused them some problems.

"Obviously it was my first one against Celtic but there were a few lads who again it was their first one. Obviously there are a few that have done it a lot of times but we'll only get better for it and in the future we'll definitely learn the lessons.

"You're playing against top-quality opposition, you switch off for one second and you're going to get punished."

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Motherwell put in a solid shift at Fir Park on Sunday against Celtic, despite the 3-0 scoreline there were positives to take, and they have one player in my Team of the Week.

Lennon Miller, the current great hope of the Scottish game, showed once again that he thrives on the big stage. Rattled the woodwork twice in the early stages against Celtic followed by another attempt at goal soon after.

We asked for your views on Motherwell's 3-0 loss against Celtic.

Here's what some of you said:

George: Night and day from the previous week with regard to effort and organisation. The team worked hard and outplayed Celtic for the first 25 minutes. Didn't take our chances and paid for it against a quality team. We'd beat most other teams with that performance.

George: Not remotely disappointed in the final outcome. The first quarter of the match was actually very encouraging but with our present squad it's almost impossible for the team to sustain that level for very long. The midfield as usual was a major problem but the defence looked more vulnerable than recently with dropping too deep and not confronting attackers sooner.

Watch highlights of Celtic's 3-0 victory over Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership.

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• Celtic have scored in their last 18 games in the Premiership, their longest run of games with a goal in the competition since a run of 27 games from 1st October 2022 to 7th May 2023.

• Celtic have scored in 9 of their 9 games, no team has done so more often in the Premiership this season.

• Celtic are undefeated in their last 18 games in the Premiership, their last longer unbeaten streak was from 1st October 2022 to 7th May 2023, a run of 27 games.

• Motherwell have failed to score in 3 of their 9 games, only St. Johnstone (4) and Ross County (4) have failed to score more often in the Premiership this season.

• Liam Gordon has received his second red card in the Premiership (177th appearance), his first since 30th September 2023.

Celtic returned to the top of the Scottish Premiership table with a solid win over Motherwell at Fir Park.

The hosts now sit fifth, two points off Dundee United, while Celtic once again lead Aberdeen on goal difference.

What did you make of that, Motherwell fans? Was a 3-0 scoreline perhaps a touch harsh on the performance?

Let us know your thoughts here., external

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Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell: "I was desperately wanting us to put aside how we performed last week and I thought in the opening quarter we were excellent.

"We were really disciplined without the ball and Celtic didn't really have much in the game in the way of chances, I thought we by far had the best opportunities.

"I think it's a lesson that you have to capitalise on those opportunities. Lennon Miller will be disappointed with the chances he missed but I thought he was terrific again."

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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The start that Motherwell made must have thrilled and frustrated Stuart Kettlewell. Two shots off the woodwork, a few dangerous corners that caused chaos - Celtic weren't rattled but they weren't far off.

But, they didn't make the most of those chances and against a side like Celtic, you aren't going to get loads of opportunities to score.

When the dam did eventually break, it was no surprise. The midfield and defence had pulled apart, and by the end they were being toyed with by Celtic.

Kofi Balmer and Marvin Kaleta were new into the Motherwell side and perhaps that was too big an ask for them to slot straight in. Up top, the new forwards are yet to start firing in and there's perhaps too much reliance on young Miller to score.

In reality, any points this afternoon would have been a bonus. They'll be onto the midweek card undeterred.

Motherwell make two changes for the visit of Celtic with defender Marvin Kaleta and midfielder Tom Sparrow replacing Dan Casey and Zach Robinson, who both make the bench.

There's no Callum McGregor in the Celtic squad with right-back Alistair Johnston captaining the visitors in the midfielder's absence.

Luke McCowan and Paulo Bernardo replace McGregor and Arne Engels in midfield and there are also two changes in attack with James Forrest and Kyogo Furuhashi taking over from Nicolas Kuhn and Adam Idah.

Engels, Idah and Kuhn are on the bench, as is returning defender Cameron Carter-Vickers.

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Motherwell: Oxborough, Kaleta, O'Donnell, Gordon, Balmer, Wilson, Zdravkovski, Halliday, Miller, Sparrow, Stamatelopoulos.

Substitutes: Hegyi, Seddon, Robinson, Casey, Blaney, Koutroumis, Ebiye, Watt, Maswanhise.

Celtic: Schmeichel, Johnston, Trusty, Scales, Valle, McCowan, Bernardo, Hatate, Forrest, Kyogo, Maeda.

Substitutes: Sinisalo, Taylor, Palma, Idah, Kuhn, Yang, Carter-Vickers, Engels, Ralston.

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Motherwell have Tom Sparrow back after a minor injury while Apostolos Stamatelopoulos has recovered from the upset stomach that forced him off against Dundee.

Paul McGinn (thigh), Callum Slattery, Sam Nicholson (both knee), Harry Paton (ankle), Ross Callachan (hamstring) and Jack Vale (calf) are long-term absentees.

Celtic hope to have Cameron Carter-Vickers and Greg Taylor back from injury.

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Apostolos Stamatelopoulos says he’s enjoying getting stuck into a busy Premiership schedule after suffering a stop-start time at Motherwell.

The Australia international was sidelined for six weeks after suffering an injury on his first start against Rangers – having already had his debut delayed while his move from Newcastle Jets was sorted out.

He opened his goalscoring account against Hibs, before suffering an upset stomach which forced him off against Dundee last weekend.

“These next few weeks for me are vital, I think, especially knowing myself as a player, getting consistency for me is going to be the thing where I feel like I can show my best,” he said.

“So, once I get a run of games, I think I’ll start to perform at a higher level.”

The 25-year-old bagged 17 goals in 25 games for in the A League last season, putting himself into international reckoning.

“I guess you could say I was a bit of a late bloomer,” he said.

“Last year was the first time where I’d put together more than three or four games in a row, and I was able to show what I could do, and I feel like this season’s going to be the same.

“Once I get a run of games, I can show everyone in Scottish football what I can do.”

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Motherwell have midfielder Tom Sparrow back after a minor injury, while striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos has recovered from the upset stomach that forced him off against Dundee.

But Paul McGinn, Callum Slattery, Sam Nicholson, Harry Paton, Ross Callachan and Jack Vale are long-term absentees.

Celtic hope to have centre-half Cameron Carter-Vickers and left-back Greg Taylor back from injury.

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Stuart Kettlewell says Motherwell have to make the most of their opportunities against Celtic.

The manager thinks it's "naive" to suggest his side can attack the reigning champions for 90 minutes but knows they can have a go on Sunday.

During his Ross County tenure, Kettlewell ended Celtic's 35-match winning run in domestic cups in 2020, and Motherwell have twice drawn at Parkhead since he joined the Lanarkshire club. The other two meetings, at Fir Park, were both won deep in stoppage time by the visitors.

"There have been several occasions in my time where we've properly had a go, come out and tried to score goals and be as offensive as we can as against a team like Celtic," Kettlewell said.

"It's about finding a balance, not just for 90 minutes but for 10-15 minute spells to maximise the opportunities we have to attack them.

"I think it's incredibly naive to think that you'll play your most attacking team for 90 minutes and you're going to come out and come after Celtic.

"You try doing that for 36 or 38 games a season and have a look at what the outcome will be."

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Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell has been speaking to the media as his side prepare to host Celtic this weekend.

Here are the main points:

• Kettlewell insists his side have been "competitive" against Celtic during his tenure - "we've let them know they're in a game of football".

• Says he saw a "completely different" Celtic against Atalanta on Tuesday night, "reinforcing the quality", but needs to ensure his side have belief and confidence when in possession.

• Adds that he needs to get the "combinations" right at the top end of the pitch but knows his side have "good quality" up front.

• As a result Kettlewell believes his side can "have a go" against Celtic but knows there will be certain moments where the visitors "outplay" Motherwell.

• The Celtic game is a "great test", their upcoming semi-final isn't in their minds, they're fully focused on getting a result and improving upon last weekend's performance.

• Kettlewell adds: "We think we've had a good start to the season but things are about to ramp up."

Flying relatively under the radar this season have been Motherwell.

Competent and consistent displays have kept Stuart Kettlewell's side comfortably inside the top six.

Last weekend's home loss to Dundee was therefore somewhat surprising and Kettlewell is now preparing for the visit of champions Celtic, who got a very creditable 0-0 Champions League draw with Atalanta on Tuesday.

Motherwell got a valuable point at Celtic Park last season but were denied by late goals in both encounters at Sunday's venue, Fir Park.

Any kind of positive result for Well could help to hold off any advance of Dundee and Kilmarnock, both sides playing on Saturday.

Read all the weekend's Premiership picks

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• Motherwell are winless in 31 meetings with Celtic in all competitions (D5 L26) since a 2-1 league victory at Celtic Park in December 2015 under Mark McGhee.

• Celtic have won each of their last nine away games against Motherwell in all competitions, scoring 30 goals in the process (3.3 per game).

• No side has kept fewer clean sheets in the Scottish Premiership in 2024 than Motherwell (two, level with Ross County), with the Steelmen recording just one shutout in their last 22 league matches (0-0 v Ross County in August).

• Celtic have won each of their last six away league outings, last winning more in a row in February 2020 (nine).

• Since he joined Celtic in 2021, Kyogo Furuhashi has both scored and assisted a goal in seven different Scottish Premiership matches (including two of his last three); only James Tavernier (eight) has done so more in this period.

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

There was a plan A, B and then C as Motherwell tried to grab an equaliser against Dundee on Saturday, but all three fell short as the Fir Park side’s winning run came to an end.

Nobody could accuse Stuart Kettlewell of failing to explore every option in a bid to try and get back into the match - at one point it looked like he'd gone for a four-pronged attack.

He has plenty of attacking options to choose from, but right now they're just not firing on all cylinders.

In terms of out-and-out strikers, Moses Ebiye is joint top scorer this season on four goals, alongside Lennon Miller, but from 13 appearances that's hardly prolific. Ebiye's last goal came over a month ago, although he has not been a regular starter.

Zach Robinson so far has been Kettlewell's first-choice man up top, and has netted once in 14 games.

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos has one goal from three starts, but he is yet to find his rhythm after a spell out injured.

While Tawanda Maswanhise, Jair Tavares and Tony Watt have all been given game-time, none have found the back of the net.

The Motherwell manager would perhaps be hoping for more from his frontmen, but he'll not be giving up hope that they can start to deliver.

Remember Theo Bair? He took a few months to come good. He only managed two goals in his first four months at the club, then come the end of December he hit a purple patch that earned him a big-money move to Auxerre in Ligue 1.

Motherwell's goal-shy forwards would do well to take inspiration from him as they look to discover some shooting form.

Jenna Thomson
Fan writer

Well, all good things must come to an end.

Over the years I have noticed teams having no luck with their form come to Fir Park and get a result. It was rinse and repeat on Saturday.

Getting a win would have been perfect heading into a three-game run of Celtic at home, Dundee United away and Rangers at Hampden in the League Cup semis.

But we just weren't clinical enough. There were multiple attempts at goal, yes, but when players are making simple errors then you're going to get punished.

Although Lennon Miller is one of our most important players, I would like to see him rested for the Celtic game as we can't afford him to pick up an injury.

He was the target of quite a few questionable tackles that could have ended badly and it's not worth the risk.

Stuart Kettlewell needs to drop Zach Robinson as he is underperforming and, to put it bluntly, isn't a first-choice striker.

Also, Tony Watt has been a shell of the player that left us. I was hoping we were getting the same striker back, but he still seems unfit.

One defeat doesn't spell tragedy for the club, nor does it mean we're about to go on our yearly long winless run, but losing to Dundee before facing the Old Firm in the space of a week is a sore one to take.

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Former Motherwell striker Ross McCormack expects the club to keep hold of star midfielder Lennon Miller for another season, as the 18-year-old continues to develop at Fir Park.

However, if Miller were to leave Motherwell, McCormack says the Scotland Under-21 international must pick his move carefully so to not stunt his growth as a player.

"I think it's down to what club he goes to and what manager he works under," McCormack said, speaking to the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"He's got to pick that very carefully because if he goes somewhere who are not notoriously big on throwing the young boys in, or a manager who likes more experienced players, then he could struggle and he'll probably have to then take one or two steps down to go again.

"But if he goes somewhere that play good football, the manager believes in young kids and he'll probably have probably 100 Motherwell appearances under his belt by then or whatever it may be.

"He's just a great talent and it's great to see him in Scottish football. It's not an easy league to play in, especially as an 18-year-old coming into the centre of midfield for someone outside the Old Firm and more or less running the show in nearly every game.

"It's great to see and I do expect Motherwell to keep a hold of him this summer."