Familiar foes meet for third time in six days

Brendan Rodgers has stuck to tried and trusted preparation methods ahead of Celtic’s third consecutive game against Motherwell today.

The Hoops boss saw his side win the Betfred Cup final Park last Sunday with a 2-0 win over the Steelmen.

Celtic then came from behind to draw 1-1 in the Ladbrokes Premiership at Fir Park on Wednesday night.

The third part at Parkhead gives the champions the chance to extend their domestic unbeaten run to 67 games, with the Hoops manager relying on his well-rehearsed plans.

“We look forward to it,” said Rodgers. “They are all about challenges.

“Every game is a challenge and of course there are different challenges when you play a team three times over the course of seven days.”

Rodgers will assess the fitness of striker Moussa Dembele and midfielder Nir Bitton who are both carrying knocks.

“We are really looking forward to playing at Celtic Park. We haven’t been at home for a number of weeks,” Rodgers said.

“Our supporters are brilliant on our travels, so for us, in front of 60,000 people, we want to go and demonstrate our qualities and intensity for them and we will pick a team to win the game.”

Facing the same team three times in quick succession means there are no secrets to how either side is likely to play. “Of course it is not the norm but there is no more or less preparation,” Rodgers said.

Skipper Scott Brown insists there will be a clash of football cultures on display again.

He said: “We are looking forward to Saturday, we are not looking back to the two previous games, we are going to focus on that.

“We just go out there and play our own game. We play to win and play attractive football and they try to stop us by playing direct football, so it’s two opposites really.

“They are a strong, physical team and they are going to be hard to beat at home, especially.”

Picture: SNS. Scott Brown says the previous two meetings are in the past.