Bank Of Scotland SPL
Sunday 18th December 2005
Caledonian Stadium, Inverness
Kick Off 2pm, Live On Setanta
It'll be yet another tricky away tie for Celtic tomorrow, when Gordon Strachan takes The Bhoys up North to face Inverness.
At the moment, everyone at Celtic is buzzing. A quick trip to Celtic Park yesterday confirmed this for me. There are smiles on everyone's faces, everyone is happy and there are two words on the lips of every Celtic fan: Roy Keane.
The signing of Keane has given everyone connected with the club a massive boost. Added to that the fact we are top of the league and playing fantastic attacking football, confidence is high at Celtic.
However we shall not be over-confident. Too many times have I seen Celtic sides verge on arrogance on the park, and find themselves falling flat on their faces. Take Dunfermline a few weeks ago for a prime example.
Tomorrow will be a tough test for this Celtic side. The weather in Inverness is set to be bitterly cold, and the Caledonian Stadium is a small, compact pitch. Inverness gave us a scare at Celtic Park back in September, when they took the lead just after half time. Craig Beattie came to Celtic's rescue that day, Celtic won the game 2-1.
Maciej Zurawski is fit again, but I reckon Celtic will start with the same side who beat Hibs last week. If Nakamura, Maloney and McGeady are on form, we should be alright. Obviously, Roy Keane cannot play until January, but no doubt his presence will be felt.
With Rangers playing Hearts today, it is surely a win-win-win situation for us. If Hearts win, great - if basically kills off Rangers for the season. If Rangers win, grand - they will still be miles away from us and Hearts will be behind if we win tomorrow, too. I will be delighted with a draw at Ibrox.
So there will be points dropped at Ibrox today, we have a great opportunity tomorrow to take advantage of this.
Come On The Hoops Prediction: ICT 1-3 Celtic