Celtic vs Ross County; Scottish Premiership
Celtic vs Ross County. Scottish Premiership.
Celtic ParkAttendance58,624.
Celtic 4
- T Rogic (13th minute)
- M Dembele (42nd minute)
- J Forrest (52nd minute, 74th minute)
Ross County 0
Celtic v Ross County preview: Moussa Dembele returns for champions
Friday 15 September 2017 13:53, UK
Striker Moussa Dembele is back in the Celtic squad for the visit of Ross County in the Ladbrokes Premiership on Saturday.
The France forward been out since July after sustaining a hamstring injury.
Dedryck Boyata will also be assessed by manager Brendan Rodgers after battling back from a knee injury with fellow defender Erik Sviatchenko on the mend following a knee problem.
Rodgers, meanwhile, has admitted Celtic's pride suffered a blow in midweek and he is looking for a response against the Staggies.
The Hoops' comprehensive 5-0 defeat to star-studded Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League opener on Tuesday was their heaviest at home in a European competition.
The Scottish champions, however, remain unbeaten on the domestic front since May 2016, and Rodgers wants to get back to winning ways at Celtic Park.
"Your professional pride hurts," said the Northern Irishman, referring to the PSG game.
"We are used to winning games and we are used to, I suppose, inflicting that type of performance on opponents.
"That is a set-back against one of the great teams but the beauty is that you learn from that, that is key and we have always shown that.
"The players were great in training and very focused on their next game.
"You are always preparing for the next game in football. You have a disappointment but very quickly you are on to your next game.
"Ross County will be a difficult game, a different challenge for us.
"But we go into it with the same ideas, to look to win the game.
"It is still very early on in the season but we have started the league campaign very well and we want it to continue."
Callum McGregor hopes Celtic's response to their harsh European lesson is as positive as it was following last season's Catalan calamity.
The 24-year-old midfielder, who signed a new contract until 2021 two days after the hammering by PSG, referred back to the 7-0 thrashing by Barcelona at the start of the 2016/17 tournament which was the Glasgow club's heaviest defeat in Europe.
Although Rodgers' side finished bottom of their section, the Hoops fought out three morale-boosting draws - two against Manchester City and one against Borussia Monchengladbach - and went on to win the domestic treble without losing a game.
"They [PSG] will be expected to go all the way in the competition," said McGregor.
"In terms of football they were different class, the way they popped it one and two touch and we struggled to get the press on.
"It is a good learning experience for us.
"You saw the Barcelona game last season, we came back and were a lot stronger as a group and kicked on in the league and cups and we will be hoping there will be a similar effect this season.
"You have to try to move on and learn from it. You try to take the little positives and we will be stronger as a group for that."
Match Stats
- Celtic have won nine and drawn five of their last 14 league meetings with Ross County
- The Staggies have scored three goals in eight previous Scottish Premiership visits to Celtic Park (D3 L5)
- Celtic have won 28 of their last 29 Scottish Premiership matches played on Saturday (D1), with that draw coming in their last Saturday match against St Johnstone last month
- Ross County have scored the fastest goal in the Scottish Premiership this season, with Craig Curran scoring after 76 seconds against Aberdeen in August
- Scott Sinclair has had a hand in 18 goals in 20 Scottish Premiership games played at Celtic Park (11 goals, seven assists)