MX23RW : Saturday, August 7 09:27:08| >> :60:1692:1692:
Jul 14, 2021 at 7.45pm UK at Ashton Gate
Bristol City
0-0
Celtic
FT

Preview: Bristol City vs. Celtic - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Pre-Season Friendlies clash between Bristol City and Celtic, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Ange Postecoglou's new side Celtic travel to Bristol City's training ground on Wednesday to play in a pre-season friendly.

This fixture is Bristol City's first friendly of the summer, while the Scottish giants have already played two games at Dragon Park in Newport.


Match preview

Celtic's Callum McGregor with teammates before the match in March 2021© Reuters

Celtic begin their important Champions League qualification campaign next week against Midtjylland and their preparation for that game has gone well so far.

Their first pre-season friendly this year came against League One outfit Sheffield Wednesday, who took an early lead through Josh Windass, but Postecoglou's side eventually ran out 3-1 winners in that game.

A second game against an English third-tier side saw the Glasgow club defeat Charlton Athletic 2-1, thanks to first-half strikes from Karamoko Dembele and Albian Ajeti.

Pre-season friendlies tend to be an opportunity for managers to rotate their squad and find their best 11 for the new season ahead, and so far Postecoglou's selection between the posts has cast goalkeeper Scott Bain's future into doubt.

Bain ended the 2020-21 season as the Hoops' number one, but in both matches this summer Vasilis Barkas has started in goal, suggesting that the Greek shot stopper will be Celtic's goalkeeper moving forward.

Bristol City's Kasey Palmer celebrates with team mates after scoring their second goal on February 27, 2021© Reuters

Nigel Pearson replaced Dean Holden at Ashton Gate in February but he failed to guide the club to much success last season, eventually ending the campaign in 19th.

The Robins did not manage a single win in their last 10 games which brought the 2020-21 season to a defeating end, and their lowest Championship finish since their return to the second tier in 2015.

However, the club are backing Pearson to guide the side higher up the table next season after he has a full pre-season with the squad, starting on Wednesday against Celtic.

Bristol made their first summer signing earlier this month with Andy King joining on a free transfer, having spent his childhood growing up as a Robins fan.

A second signing of this transfer window came shortly afterwards as centre-back Rob Atkinson arrived for an undisclosed fee from Oxford United, penning a three-year deal at Ashton Gate.

Bristol City's Championship campaign begins at home against newly-promoted Blackpool on August 7, and they will be hoping to replicate their opening day from last season when they beat Coventry City 2-1.

Celtic pre-season friendlies form:
  • W
  • W



Team News

Celtic's Odsonne Edouard shoots at goal against Rangers in the Scottish Premiership on March 21, 2021© Reuters

Celtic centre-back Christopher Jullien has been sidelined since December with a knee injury and is expected to be absent on Wednesday again, but he could make his return to action this month.

The Scottish club made two signings from Sheffield Wednesday this summer, Osaze Urhoghide and Liam Shaw moving up North, and the latter made his debut for the Hoops against his former club last week.

Striker Odsonne Edouard has been heavily linked with a move away from Celtic Park this summer, amid interest from Leicester City and Arsenal, but he has come into the side for the second half of both friendly fixtures so far.

Andreas Weimann missed a large portion of the Championship season last year, being absent from the side since October, but he has made a return to fitness and will be in contention to start against Celtic.

Twenty-one-year-old Antoine Semenyo is currently in rehabilitation along with Robbie Cundy and Louis Britton, after the trio have been suffering with knee injuries.

Tomas Kalas and Nahki Wells will not feature for Bristol City this week as they are given a longer rest this summer following international duty.

Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Bentley; Mariappa, Atkinson, Baker, Simpson; King, Bakinson; Palmer, Pearson, Weimann; Martin

Celtic possible starting lineup:
Barkas; Taylor, Bitton, Urhoghide, Ajer; McGregor, Turnbull; Ajeti, Dembele, Henderson; Edouard


SM words green background

We say: Bristol City 1-2 Celtic

Celtic should be the sharper of the two sides having played two matches already this summer, and Bristol City may need some time to get up to match fitness.

Postecoglou's side have been in fine form in front of goal this summer and will be a tough test for the Championship outfit's defenders, especially if Pearson opts to hand young Atkinson his debut.






ID:454990:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect9855:

How you voted: Bristol City vs Celtic

Bristol City
26.3%
Draw
5.3%
Celtic
68.4%
57
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Did you know...?
Ange Postecoglou pictured in November 2020
Read Next:
Ange Postecoglou praises Celtic's "intent" in Charlton victory
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.

rhs 2.0
Olympic medal table header
CountryGold medalSilver MedalBronze MedalT
ChinaChina38291784
United StatesUnited States333632101
JapanJapan24121652
Great BritainGreat Britain19202160
Olympics flagRussian Olympic Committee17242263
Today's Olympic highlights header

Saturday's key events


ATHLETICS
· Team GB have three contenders in the women's marathon - Stephanie Davis, Jess Piasecki and Stephanie Twell (10pm)
· The women's high jump final includes Great Britain's Morgan Lake (11.35am)
· Jessica Judd and Eilish McColgan compete in the women's 10,000m final, but most eyes will be on world record holder Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia (11.45am)
· There is more British representation in the men's 1500m final as Jake Heyward, Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman bid for a place on the podium. New Olympic record holder Abel Kipsang of Kenya is among the favourites for gold (2.40pm)
· The women's 4x400m relay promises to be a thrilling affair, with USA favourites and Great Britain involved (1.30pm)
· After the women's it is the men's 4x400m relay final, with USA also among the front-runners for gold in that (1.50pm)

GOLF
· The women's golf tournament comes to a head, with USA's Nelly Korda holding a three-shot leading going into the final round (10.30pm)

DIVING
· Tom Daley overcame a slow start to qualify for the men's 10m platform semi-final (2am), and will hope to be part of the final as he bids for a second Olympic gold at Tokyo (7am)

BASKETBALL
· USA's domination of the basketball could continue in the men's gold medal match as they take on France (3.30am)

BEACH VOLLEYBALL
· Gold is up for grabs in the men's final as Norway take on the Olympic athletes from Russia (3.30am)

BOXING
· Gal Yafai has a date with destiny in the men's flyweight gold medal bout against Carlo Paalam of the Philippines (6am)

WATER POLO
· Spain and USA go head to head in the women's gold medal match (8.30am)

CYCLING
· After a masterful gold medal-winning display by Team GB's women on Friday, the men look to emulate their teammates in the madison final (8.55am)

BASEBALL
· The day of gold medal games continues in baseball as hosts Japan look to beat USA to the top prize (11am)

EQUESTRIAN
· Team GB will be gunning for more glory in equestrian when they take part in the jumping team final (11am)

HANDBALL
· A gold-laden Saturday also includes the men's handball gold medal match, with France facing Denmark (1pm)

VOLLEYBALL
· France are also involved in the gold medal match in the volleyball, taking on the Russian Olympic Committee in a bid for top spot on the podium (1.15pm)

FOOTBALL
· Two football giants compete for the gold medal in the men's final as defending champions Brazil take on Spain (2.30pm)

> Today's schedule in full
Todays Game Header Right
Championship
Community Shield
Olympic Games Men's Football
Scottish Premiership
Ligue 1
Primeira Liga
Coppa Italia
DFB-Pokal
League One
League Two
Scottish Championship
Scottish League One
Scottish League Two
Pre-Season Friendlies
Belgian Pro League
Swiss Super League
Russian Premier League
Ukrainian Premier League
Swedish Allsvenskan
Finnish Veikkausliiga
League of Ireland Premier
Ligue 2
Eerste Divisie
Brasileiro
Copa Diego Maradona
Uruguayan Primera Division
Liga MX
Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1RangersRangers11003033
2Aberdeen11002023
3Hibernian11003213
4Hearts11002113
5Dundee10102201
6St Mirren10102201
7Ross County10100001
8St Johnstone10100001
9Motherwell100123-10
10Celtic100112-10
11Dundee UnitedDundee Utd100102-20
12Livingston100103-30

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
Ultra close-up image of Kevin De Bruyne [NOT FOR USE IN ARTICLES]Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!