Introduction
Falkirk came up just short in their recent visit to Celtic on Saturday, as they slipped to a narrow 2-1 defeat at Celtic Park.
Camilo Durán gave Celtic an early lead after five minutes, and he doubled that lead shortly before the half-hour mark.
A Colby Donovan own goal halved Falkirk’s deficit on the day, but the Bairns were unable to force the equaliser.
The experts from Andy’s Bet Club will be reviewing all of our games in the 2026/27 season, and you can find more of the free football tips they offer on their website.
Attack
Falkirk’s five shots produced only one on target. Jacob Murrell’s 72nd-minute effort, rated at 0.27 xG, came back off Colby Donovan for the own goal. Celtic’s Viljami Sinisalo faced two shots in total and made one save, a reflex stop.
Celtic scored twice and created enough chances to have won by more. The visitors were restricted to five shots and an expected goals (xG) total of 0.74.
While Celtic’s own total reached 3.00 from 19 attempts, eight of which were on target.
Camilo Durán scored both goals, a left-footed finish after four minutes rated at 0.07 xG and a right-footed strike in the 29th minute worth 0.35.
Benjamin Nygren was the more dangerous creator without adding a goal himself, with his efforts carrying 1.53 xG in total, including a 75th-minute left-footed attempt worth 0.49.
Celtic’s work down the left flank produced 16 attacks worth 1.42 xG, 47% of the side’s overall attacking threat, with central play contributing 13 attacks and 1.26 xG. The right flank saw as many attacks as the left but only 0.31 xG came from them.
Defence
Celtic’s PPDA (passes allowed per defensive action) read 17.0, meaning an opposition pass was allowed for every 17 before a Celtic player intervened, a figure worth setting against Falkirk’s own 14.0.
Recoveries slightly favoured Celtic, 70 to 64, with Cameron Carter-Vickers leading all the players on 13.
Duels went 61 to 45 in Celtic’s favour from 106 contests, 58%, and the aerial battle split 7 from 12. Celtic also made 27 clearances compared to Falkirk’s 13.
Possession
Falkirk had 44% of the possession against Celtic, and had a pass completion rate of 84% from their 458 attempted passes. Whereas the Bhoys completed 507 of their 573 passes (88%). Average possessions ran to 17 seconds in favour of Celtic, compared to Falkirk’s 14.
Celtic’s progressive passes were completed 49 times from 69 attempts (71%). Passes into the final third landed 43 times from 52 (83%), which was clear of Falkirk’s 56% success rate from 39 passes.
Possession did not turn into pressure equally throughout. Celtic’s first-half xG stood at 0.98 before climbing to 2.02 in the second-half, even though the share of the ball barely moved between the two periods.
Set pieces
Falkirk had three corners in the defeat compared to Celtic’s six, but the Bairns struggled to make an impact from their crosses. Two of the 13 attempts from Falkirk found a team-mate, which was a 15% success rate on the day.
Celtic had a better success rate with their crosses, as eight of their 20 were successful.
Players
Camilo Durán’s brace inside the first-half made the difference, with his 72 minutes on the pitch producing two goals from 0.53 xG.
Benjamin Nygren was Celtic’s most creative presence, as he generated 1.53 xG of his own without scoring.
Cameron Carter-Vickers led the side defensively, with 13 recoveries and 97 actions completed at 80%.
For Falkirk, Jacob Murrell’s introduction produced the game’s clearest chance, his 72nd-minute shot worth 0.27 xG.
Ryan Strain was the visitors’ busiest outlet, having been involved in 87 actions and serving 12 throw-ins, while goalkeeper Scott Bain made six saves, two of them reflex stops, across a 47-pass involvement.
Conclusion
Celtic outshot Falkirk 19 to five and outcreated them by more than four times on xG, 3.00 to 0.74, while holding the larger share of possession and completing more passes throughout the game.
Falkirk’s own goal capped an afternoon in which they found it tough to test Viljami Sinisalo directly in the Celtic goal.
Falkirk are set to host Rangers on Wednesday evening, as they look to pick up their first league win of the 2026/27 season.
Check out Andy’s Bet Club for further match analysis.
