Scottish League

2026-05-13 - Motherwell vs Celtic

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Motherwell v Celtic
Football: Scottish Premiership Championship Group
Wednesday 13th May 2026 - Kick Off 8pm

Motherwell

An entertaining fixture ended in a 1-1 draw here this past weekend against the current League leaders and Motherwell have an opportunity to end the Celtic reign as Scottish Champions. Winning on Wednesday would not only guarantee Motherwell's spot in European Football, but accompanied with a Hearts win and there will be a new Champion crowned.

The focus has to be on what is important to 4th placed Motherwell who are now 4 points clear of 5th placed Hibernian and with two fixtures still to play. They will be rounding out this season at Easter Road and so it is important for The Steelmen to improve the 10-6-2 record at Fir Park where they have scored 30 goals and conceded 10 this season.

Motherwell have only won 1 of the last 8 Premiership games after the 1-1 draw with Hearts on Saturday, while they have been beaten 5 times in that run. They had been unbeaten in 12 at home in all competitions before the defeat to Falkirk, while Motherwell come into this fixture having failed to win the last 3 at home.

Celtic

The decision to appoint Wilfried Nancy in between two interim appointments of Martin O'Neill will be one that Celtic fans point out if the four year reign as Scottish Champions is ended over the next few days. He may not have managed a club in over six years, but Martin O'Neill has proven he has not lost his touch and Celtic have won 24 of 32 games under his two periods this season.

They were under some pressure to produce a big result in the last Old Firm derby of the season, but Celtic did not miss a beat on Sunday and the three points secured means they are a point behind Hearts with two games left to play. You have to believe that Celtic will need a positive result to take the title race into the final day and the side do have the best away record in the Premiership this season at 10-3-5.

Celtic were stunned in a 2-0 defeat at Tannadice Park in the last game before the March international break, but they have won 5 straight League games since then and also beaten St Mirren in the Scottish FA Cup Semi Final, albeit After Extra Time. The side have battled to consecutive away League wins at Dundee and Hibernian by the same 1-2 scoreline.

Head to Head

All three Premiership games between Motherwell and Celtic have been won by the home team this season.

Motherwell beat Celtic 2-0 here in late December, which was the fifth defeat in 7 games under Wilfried Nancy.

That result also ended Celtic's 11 game winning run at Fir Park.

Prediction

The last time Celtic visited Fir Park, Wilfried Nancy was continuing to face extreme pressure as manager of the club and his tenure came to an end just a few days later after yet another defeat, this time in the Old Firm derby.

Martin O'Neill was once again asked to steady the ship, as he had done following Brendan Rodgers' departure in October, and Celtic fans will be wondering what might have been if the board had stuck with the veteran in charge.

Players and the manager will not be thinking about that as they continue to chase down Hearts in what has been an absorbing Scottish Premiership title race.

It will feel fitting if Celtic hosting Hearts will decide the title this weekend, but The Bhoys have to find a positive result at Fir Park against a tough Motherwell team who just held Hearts to a 1-1 draw.

The visiting team were the better team on the night, but Motherwell have continued to show resilience and fortitude and have been tough at home all season. Just 2 defeats and 10 goals conceded underlines the challenge for Celtic, although there is a feeling that the latter have picked up real momentum since the March international break.

Credit has to be given to the Celtic team for digging in and earning big away results against Dundee and Hibernian and they can earn another one here.

A draw will keep the title race alive, but Celtic are trailing Hearts by three goals in the Goal Difference column and that could be much wider if The Jambos beat Falkirk comfortably on the same night. This would put some pressure on Celtic to have to win and thus avoid having to worry about the Goal Difference numbers, but O'Neill has shown he can coax big performances out of the team.

Celtic have won 5 of 8 away League games in the second interim run under Martin O'Neill and they may do just enough against a Motherwell team that put in a big effort to hold Hearts, despite being the slightly poorer team on the night.

As long as Celtic can weather the early storm, the quality and experience within the ranks can force a victory at this tough ground where they enjoyed so much success before the one and only visit under Wilfried Nancy.