James McFadden
Former Motherwell forward on BBC Radio Scotland

Richard Tait arrives at the back post area as Celtic only half clear a speculative high ball but the Motherwell full-back can only blaze a first-time shot high and wide.

Pat Bonner
Former Celtic goalkeeper on BBC Radio Scotland

"Motherwell have left the wide areas a little bit vacant, and when you're up against Scott Sinclair and Kieran Tierney with their movement and ability to link up with each other, you've got to get across really quickly to kill the space."

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland at Hampden

Hampden is well and truly alive. Plenty of colour and noise from both sets of fans creating a great atmosphere. Both managers are right on the edge of their respective technical areas wiling their teams on for the opener.

Stuart Armstrong surges into the Motherwell penalty box from the right and does well under pressure to hook a pass into the path of James Forrest. The Celtic winger gets a shot away but it's blocked by a great sliding challenge from Carl McHugh.

An angry Moussa Dembele looks for immediate retribution and is booked for a crude challenge on Motherwell skipper Carl McHugh.

James McFadden
Former Motherwell forward on BBC Radio Scotland

"It was a bad tackle. You look at it at the time and think it's a good tackle, but having watched it back, Kipre is very fortunate there."

Ouch!published at 13 mins

13 mins

Motherwell 0-0 Celtic

Moussa Dembele is limping after a heavy challenge from Cedric Kipre. The lunging Motherwell defender got the slightest touch on the ball and a whole lot of the Celtic striker's ankle.

Both sets of fans rise to applaud the memory of former player Phil O'Donnell...

His son Luc brought out the trophy ahead of the teams entering the pitch.

Image source, SNS

Mikael Lustig and then Stuart Armstrong both have shots blocked in a very congested Motherwell penalty box.

Pat Bonner
Former Celtic goalkeeper on BBC Sportsound

"Motherwell look as if they're forcing Celtic to play wide. They're going with a back four, three midfielders with Chris Cadden in front of that and then the two strikers.

"They're trying to crowd Scott Brown and stop him dictating the game - so far it's working because Celtic don't have control of the game."

Celtic scamper forward on a swift counter as Moussa Dembele links well with Callum McGregor and James Forrest but Motherwell get enough men back to snuff out the danger on the edge of their penalty area.

Louis Moult controls well on his chest and sets off on a gallop down the right touchline. His progress is checked by a Dedryck Boyata trip but Craig Thomson waves play on. Maybe the referee is having trouble seeing through the smoke left by the earlier fireworks.

It's noisy inside the national stadium, with Motherwell fans heavily outnumbered. A couple of meaty challenges ensure the decibel level remains high.

A peep of the whistle from referee Craig Thomson and we're up and running.

Pyrotechnics, now handshakes. We're almost there...

Fans at Hampden will celebrate the memory of Phil O'Donnell.

Next month will mark the 10th anniversary of his tragic death. The midfielder was just 35 when he collapsed on the pitch at Fir Park due to heart failure.

He scored in Motherwell's dramatic 4-3 Scottish Cup final win over Dundee United in 1991 and he lifted the same trophy with Celtic in 1995.

O'Donnell was also a league winner with Celtic in 1998, while he returned to Motherwell in 2004, later taking over the captaincy.

His son Luc will bring out the trophy at the national stadium.

Louis Moult was also at the double when Motherwell last beat Celtic. That 2-1 league victory came at Celtic Park in December 2015.

Since then, it's been six wins on the bounce for Celtic.

Last season, Brendan Rodgers' side romped to a 5-0 in the second round this competition and managed to come back from 2-0 down at half-time at Fir Park to win 4-3. The aggregate score from the four meetings in the previous campaign was 13-3.

Motherwell fans will be glad the club rejected an offer for Louis Moult from Aberdeen in the summer.

The striker hit doubles in the wins over Aberdeen and Rangers and was also on target against Queen's Park and Morton in the group stage.

The 25-year-old hit another brace against Aberdeen in the league last weekend to take his tally to 50 goals in 95 appearances.

He's out of contract in the summer and Motherwell can expect their resolve to be tested again in January.

Image source, SNS

Martin Dowden gives his impressions of the game at Rugby Park as Aberdeen beat Kilmarnock to consolidate their second place in the Premiership and continue the Ayrshire side's season-long wait for a home win.