After the high of their Champions League exploits, might Celtic come a cropper at Partick Thistle on Sunday?
Having come through ties against KuPS of Finland and Lithuanians Gintra, Elena Sadiku’s side will host Vorskla Poltava of Ukraine later this month as they bid to make history by reaching the group stage.
First, though, the reigning SWPL champions have domestic matters to attend to, with a trip on Sunday to a Thistle side who thrashed Motherwell 4-0 last time out.
Former Scotland and Celtic goalkeeper Gemma Fay reckons the Petershill Park tussle is the pick of the weekend action as Thistle look to spring an upset.
Celtic are unbeaten in the league so far, with four wins and a draw, while Brian Graham‘s team have lost to Hibs, Rangers and Glasgow City, but are looking to make it three games without defeat.
“That’s the game that sparks my attention,” Fay said on the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast.
“Celtic have been away doing Champions League exploits and they’re into that final qualification round. They’ve lost Chloe Craig to an ACL injury, which is a huge miss for them in defence.
“Partick Thistle have had a bit of a yo-yo start, but they were sensational against Motherwell last week.
“Celtic’s league form has been good, but it’s not been great. Elena Sadiku would admit that herself.
“You’ve got Celtic coming back from Europe. You’ve got Partick Thistle coming off a really good performance against Motherwell.
“It’s going to be back at Petershill as well, which, even though it’s going to have a new pitch, it’s still a really tight, windy place.
“That will be a tricky fixture for Celtic if we get the Partick Thistle we know can make it really, really difficult for the top sides, which they’ve done for the last couple of seasons.
“That has the potential of being a banana skin.”
How to follow the weekend action on BBC
You can watch Partick Thistle v Celtic (16:10 BST kick-off) on Sunday live on BBC Alba and the BBC Sport website, app and iPlayer.
We will also bring you live text coverage of Sunday’s full six-game SWPL card, which includes Hearts v Aberdeen, Glasgow City’s visit to Motherwell, and Rangers at home to Spartans.
Every goal and talking point will be covered, with the live text starting from 12:50 on the BBC Sport website and app.
Then, on Monday night, watch the best of the weekend action on the SWPL highlights show on BBC Scotland at 19:00.
