Celtic aim to bounce back from defeat at Borussia Dortmund to equal Rangers’ record in Ross County | Football news

Celtic suffered a crushing 7-1 defeat at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday evening, conceding as many goals in that match as in their last fourteen Premiership games combined.

Their expected goals against in Dortmund was 2.64, which is more than they have faced in their six Premiership games this season (2.54).

With seven goals conceded, Kasper Schmeichel conceded two more goals than in his previous nine Champions League appearances combined. The Champions League is for The Hoops has proven to be a much tougher task, with almost as many goals conceded in the Champions League (23) as in the Premier League (30) since Brendan Rodgers returned to the club at the start of last season.

Celtic will be looking to put that achievement behind them as quickly as possible and this Sunday marks a return to domestic football with a live trip to Ross County. Air sports.

Sunday, October 6, 11 a.m

Starts at 12 noon

The Bhoys top the Premier League with a 100 percent record. It is the twelfth time that they have won their first six games, including three in the past six seasons.

What makes this different to recent examples is that they are yet to concede a goal to equal their club record from 1906/07, leaving them one clean sheet away from equaling Rangers’ record of seven consecutive clean sheets in the top division from the start. of the season under Steven Gerrard in 2020/21.

Schmeichel has replaced Joe Hart as Celtic’s first-choice goalkeeper and has impressed by bringing a calming authority to the defensive unit.

He is only the second goalkeeper in the history of the Scottish top division to keep six consecutive clean sheets from the start of the season, equaling Thomas Sinclair, who was loaned to the Bhoys from Rangers due to an injury to first-choice keeper Davie Adams, just two days earlier. from the start of the 1906/07 season. Sinclair did not concede a single goal in his six league appearances for the club before returning to Rangers.

Schmeichel will be confident of setting a new benchmark this weekend with another clean sheet in Ross County. The Dane has faced just ten shots on target in his six Premiership games so far, while Celtic’s expected goals against figure is just 2.54.

Celtic have won their last two trips to Dingwall by nil and did not concede a shot on target in the last meeting there, a 3-0 win in November 2023. They also had 39 shots, the most in any league match since the Premier League. emerged in 2013, and 54 goals in the opposition box, contributing to the statistics of what has been a one-sided match in the last five meetings in Dingwall.

A win for Celtic at Ross County will help lift the midweek gloom and keep impressive Aberdeen at bay. The Reds have also started the season with six wins from six and are five points ahead of third-placed Rangers.

For the Dons, it is only the second time in their history that they have started a season so well and they will be aiming to emulate the class of Derek McInnes of 2015/16, who won their first eight Premiership games as they finished second behind Celtic. .

Jimmy Thelin’s side are the most improved team this season and are 13 points better off than at the same stage last season. Indeed, it took until just before Christmas and sixteen games for them to gain as many points last season as they had already collected from their first six games.

It’s notable that Aberdeen were able to make it seven wins at home to Hearts on Sunday but still not finish the weekend top, but as former manager Sir Alex Ferguson once said, ‘Attack wins your games, defense wins you titles’ and it’s Celtic’s backline that their title defense is afloat.

The Bhoys will be heartened by the knowledge that only once in the last seventeen seasons in the Scottish top division has the team with the best defensive record failed to win the title.

You can see if Celtic’s defense can hold their own again and continue their perfect start to the season Sky Sports Football And Sky Sports main event on Sunday. Coverage starts at 11am.