Seeking to claim their fifth successive away victory across all competitions, Celtic travel to Dens Park, where they will face Dundee in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday. The hosts, meanwhile, have claimed seven points from their last 12 available points and will be hoping to cause an upset this weekend as they aim to climb away from the relegation zone.
Dundee managed to bounce back from an embarrassing 0-5 home defeat against Ross County with a 1-0 victory away against St Mirren last weekend. The only goal of the game came in the 11th minute from midfielder Max Anderson, which secured just their second league victory of the campaign. James McPake’s men remain in 11th place, four points clear of Ross County and just two points behind Livingston in 10th.
Dundee have the second-most number of successful defensive duels in the league. They have conceded the most number of goals and are attacked by their opposition more times in a game which is why they have to attempt more defensive duels.
The above visual shows us the xT creation zones of Dundee from their match against St. Mirren last weekend. Dundee were more threatening when they attacked from the left flank and had a higher xT from their passes in the same region. Paul McMullan and Charlie Adam had the highest xT from their passes, and will look to play similar passes against Celtic.
Celtic’s hopes of advancing into the knockout stages of the Europa League remain alive after they claimed a 3-2 victory in Budapest against Ferencvaros on Thursday night. Back-to-back victories in Group G have moved Celtic just one point behind second-placed Real Betis, who they will face in their final group game in December. Celtic now turn their attention back to the Premiership before the international break, with a comparatively easy fixture against Dundee.
Celtic have been one of the tightest defensive units in the Premiership so far and have only conceded seven goals in 12 games. They have the lowest xG against them in the league and have a very low xG of 0.552 against them per 90 minutes. Celtic have kept six clean sheets and are also the best defense in the league so far.
Most of the Celtic players have a high overall xT in the games they have played, as Celtic have scored the most number of goals and attempted more attacking actions in every game. David Turnbull has created the highest xT for Celtic and has been the star performer for Celtic with seven goals and five assists in all competitions.
After losing each of their first three away games in the top flight this season, Celtic have won each of their last three on the road and will be seeking their fourth in succession.
Celtic are seven matches unbeaten across all competitions after a confidence-boosting 3-2 win away at Ferencvaros in the Europa League on Thursday night. Considering their impressive record against Dundee, Celtic are strong favorites to come away with all three points this weekend, with a routine victory on the cards. The hosts, who have conceded more goals than any other Premiership side so far this season, will need to be on top of their game defensively if they are to keep the visitors quiet.
Dundee predicted starting lineup:
Legzdins, Kerr, Ashcroft, Sweeney, Marshall, McMullen, McGowan, Adam, Anderson, McCowan, Cummings.
Celtic predicted starting lineup:
Hart, Ralston, Welsh, Carter-Vickers, Juranovic, Bitton, McGregor, Turnbull, Abada, Furuhashi, Jota.
