Celtic vs Hamilton Academical. Scottish Premiership.
Celtic ParkAttendance53,883.
Wednesday 13 December 2017 19:48, UK
Brendan Rodgers has warned his Celtic side they will have to graft if they are to get three points against Hamilton in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday.
The Hoops extended their unbeaten domestic run to 68 games with a 2-2 draw against Hibernian at Easter Road on Sunday and few would bet on Martin Canning's Hamilton side, who lost for the first time in seven games at the weekend to St Johnstone, ending it when they make the trip to Celtic Park.
However, Rodgers, whose side are preparing for their fourth of nine games in December, anticipates a difficult night.
"Martin always gets his teams organised and very difficult to beat," he said. "He has an honest group of players who work very hard and make it difficult for you. Every time you play against Hamilton you have to earn the right to win the game.
"They played well in their game at the weekend against St Johnstone but, like Tommy Wright's teams do, they hang in there and eventually get the win.
"We'll expect another tough game from Hamilton but of course we're at home. We want to impose our way of working and our style on the game and hopefully that brings us the three points."
Hamilton manager Canning has claimed the current crop of Accies players are the best the club has had in his nine years there.
"It's the strongest squad we've had at Hamilton Accies since I've been here," he said. "When you look at the bench on Saturday, there are five or six guys sitting there who are all arguably ready to play and should be playing.
"It's a good squad, and you have Steven Boyd, Botti Biabi and Ali Crawford that aren't even in the squad [on Saturday]. It's a strong squad and we know that if we can keep everybody fit, then we can definitely have a good season."
Celtic boss Rodgers has no fresh injury concerns for the visit of Hamilton. Loan winger Patrick Roberts remains a long-term absentee with a hamstring injury which has seen him return to Manchester City for treatment.
Hamilton also have no fresh injury worries for the trip. Crawford is set to get his first minutes for the development team on Tuesday night with the hope of making himself available for the weekend following a knee injury.
Players such as Grant Gillespie, Biabi and Boyd are pushing for game time after being frustrated on the sidelines but there are no further injuries following the defeat to St Johnstone.
Celtic have won 16 of their 19 matches against Hamilton in the Scottish Premiership (D2 L1), with an aggregate scoreline of 48-9 in those games.
The Accies have picked up just three out of a possible 30 points on offer from their trips to Celtic Park in the Scottish Premiership (W1 L9), failing to score in seven of those matches.
Celtic are unbeaten in each of their last 55 Scottish Premiership games (W46 D9) - last losing back in May 2016 vs St. Johnstone.
Hamilton are unbeaten in their last three away league games, winning two (D1). They had won just two of their previous 25.
