It has been seven long years since Motherwell left Parkhead with a victory. Could the return of Louis Moult tip the scales in the Steelmen's favour?
The newly returned striker scored a double when Celtic last suffered a home defeat to Motherwell in 2016. The travelling band of supporters will harbour feint hopes of a repeat and few are likely to be tempted to venture a small wager on the away win even with the tempting 25/1 that is available.
However, realists will note that Celtic are not in the habit of losing back to back league games. The St Mirren result a fortnight ago was an unexpected blot after six straight wins. Ange Postecoglou had to watch his team deliver a much under par performance and they paid the price when faced with a Paisley side on top form.
Thirteen Celtic players were involved with their respective international squads including Callum McGregor, Greg Taylor, Anthony Ralston and David Turnbull in the Scotland party. The trio of Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate were in Germany with the Japan squad.
Regardless of the toll exacted by foreign adventures the home squad has enough quality to present Motherwell with a formidable challenge.
Stevie Hammell has effected a culture change at Fir Park and the fine play on display has not had the deserved return of points. The lack of cutting edge has been costly and the hope is that a partnership between Kevin Van Veen and Louis Moult can sharpen the goal scoring threat.
Liam Kelly was on the bench for the recent Nations League matches and Ross Tierney played for an hour with the Ireland U21s against Israel. The manager has had plenty of time to plan his strategy.
We can expect Motherwell to stick to the new system. While they will make every attempt to push forward long periods in defence are likely. Kelly and co will offer stiff resistance but a breach or two could lead to a 2-0 defeat.