Celtic v Hibernian Preview: Sadiku confident, but well aware of high-flying Hibees
Ethan Barlow previews tomorrow's SWPL game with Hibs
Celtic Women are set to host Hibernian at New Douglas Park on Sunday at 4.10pm in what promises to be a close and intense matchup between two of the four remaining title chasing teams in the SWPL.
Hibs haven’t tasted defeat since September. Elena Sadiku explained how she hopes to change that but is aware her players need to be wary of the opponents’ strengths, she said: “We need to respect Hibs, they’ve been having a great run… But that doesn’t change that we need to be confident in ourselves and what we can do.”
The Ghirls’ point at Glasgow City before the international break allowed Rangers and Hibs to close the gap at the top, meaning the top four teams in the league are remarkably on the same point tally with 11 matches remains, 10 of them being post-split fixtures.
Along with the four title chasing clubs, Hearts and Motherwell have secured top six finishes with games to spare. Meaning Celtic will face the Jambos and Steelmen home and away as part of their challenge to retain the title. Hearts lie six points behind the pack and will likely take points off the teams above them, but it would take a major collapse from the four teams to see Hearts back in the equation for a title conversation.
Including the weekend’s welcome of Grant Scott’s surprise package Hibees, Sadiku will be tasked with seven matches against sides currently level on points with the champions, en route to back-to-back championship seasons. The concerning aspect for the Swedish coach will be the failure to beat one of these team in their last four attempts. Celtic will hope to get over that hump and revenge their earlier goalless draw against the Leith club earlier in the season with a win to leave the fairytale story behind, relieving pressure on the Scottish women’s game’s usual ‘big three’.
Celtic’s boss is using the disappointment of the cup failures as a motivator to keep the title at Celtic Park, she said: “It’s very frustrating we’re not in the cups anymore but that’s something we need to turn into a big motivation to what we can control now, which is the league.”
Celtic’s lack of cup success this season may play out to be advantageous in the league with the other three title contenders still in either, or both competitions. Roles are reversed from earlier in the season when the Hoops were the only Scottish side in the Women’s Champions League (UWCL).