Motherwell vs Celtic Prediction & Betting Tips 13.05.2026

Motherwell welcome Celtic to Fir Park on Wednesday evening, 13 May 2026, in the Scottish Premiership Championship Round. It’s a meeting between two clubs with very different seasons, even if the table has tightened enough to keep the stakes alive. Motherwell sit fourth on 54 points, still with a chance to finish the campaign strongly and protect some pride on home soil. Celtic are third on 67 points and chasing a positive close to a season that hasn’t gone entirely to plan by their standards.

This isn’t just a routine end-of-season fixture either. For Motherwell, there’s the chance to land a statement result against one of Scottish football’s biggest names and extend a strong home campaign. For Celtic, the aim is simpler but no less important: keep momentum rolling, collect points, and show a bit of authority in the final run-in. They arrive with the better overall record and the bigger attack, but Fir Park has been a tricky place for visitors. That matters. A lot.

The recent history between the sides adds a layer too. Celtic beat Motherwell 3-1 in Glasgow on 14 March, but Motherwell stunned them 2-0 at Fir Park on 30 December. There’s no shortage of goals in this fixture, no shortage of noise either, and the 13 May meeting has every chance of following that pattern.

Motherwell Form & Analysis

Motherwell’s recent run has been a bit of a mixed bag, and that’s putting it politely. They were held 1-1 at home by Heart of Midlothian on 9 May, a game that looked winnable on paper but never really settled into their favour. Before that came a narrow 1-0 defeat away to Falkirk on 2 May, which followed one of their best results of the spring — the excellent 3-2 away win at Rangers on 26 April. That was a proper shock result. Bold, sharp, and very much against the grain of their earlier week-to-week form.

Go back a little further and the picture turns more erratic. They lost 3-1 away to Hearts on 11 April, then fell 3-2 at home to Falkirk on 4 April, and were held to a goalless draw by Hibernian at Fir Park on 21 March. That’s two wins from their last six, but it’s the shape of the results that tells the story. They’ve had moments — especially at Rangers — yet they’ve also struggled to put together any kind of sustained run. Two games without a win heading into this one. Not disastrous. Not convincing either.

At home, though, Motherwell have been a different animal. Their league record at Fir Park reads 10 wins, five draws and only two defeats, with 29 goals scored and just nine conceded. That’s a serious base to work from. You don’t rack up those numbers by accident. They’ve been organised, competitive and hard to shake loose in front of their own crowd, even if the recent 1-1 against Hearts showed they’re not untouchable. Still, conceding only nine goals at home across the league campaign is elite stuff. It gives them a platform in games like this, where they don’t need to dominate possession to stay alive.

The flip side? Motherwell haven’t been all that clean going forward in the last couple of weeks. Against Hearts, they managed just eight shots and only one on target, with an xG of 0.45. That’s thin. Yet the earlier away win at Rangers showed they can be dangerous when the game opens up and they’re brave enough to go at teams. Jens Askou will know they can’t just sit and hope Celtic misfire. They’ll need at least a decent share of the ball, some set-piece threat, and a bit more edge in the final third than they showed last Friday.

Celtic Form & Analysis

Celtic come into this one in stronger mood, and the last few matches have given them a decent rhythm. They beat Rangers 3-1 at home on 10 May, which is the sort of result that lifts the whole place. Before that, they went to Hibernian on 3 May and came away with a 2-1 win, another useful away result in a tight game. A 3-1 home win over Falkirk on 25 April had already shown their attack was warming up again, and even the 2-2 Scottish Cup draw with St Mirren on 19 April had some attacking punch to it.

There’s consistency in there. Since losing 2-0 away to Dundee United on 22 March, Celtic have gone six league games unbeaten. That matters. Martin O’Neill has a side that’s finding ways to win, and the attacking output has been a bit more reliable in the last month. Mikey Moore, Yang Hyun-Jun and Daizen Maeda all got in on the act in the derby win over Rangers, and that spread of scorers is a good sign. When Celtic share the goals around, they become harder to pin down.

Away from home, their record is good without being spotless. Nine wins, three draws and five defeats is solid enough, and 25 goals scored on the road shows they’re rarely blanking out completely. The issue is at the other end. Celtic have conceded 23 away goals, which is a fair old total for a team with title ambitions. They’re not exactly leaky, but they’re not bulletproof away from Glasgow either. That leaves the door open here. Fir Park isn’t the sort of ground where you stroll through, and Celtic have already been beaten there this season. They’ll know they need to be switched on from the start.

Mind you, the recent underlying output at home against Rangers was tidy enough, with an xG of 1.05 and three big chances created. They don’t have to overwhelm Motherwell to get something from this. They just need enough quality in the right moments. That’s usually where Celtic separate themselves from most domestic opposition. Get a run of pressure, create a handful of clean chances, and they’ll back themselves to score. The problem is keeping the back door shut. That’s been the weakness, and it’s why this match has goals written into it.

Head-to-Head

This fixture has been lively lately. Celtic beat Motherwell 3-1 at Celtic Park in March, but Motherwell responded with a very eye-catching 2-0 win at Fir Park on 30 December. Those two results alone tell you enough about how this matchup can swing when one side gets the tempo right. There’s no long-running pattern of stalemates here. Usually, somebody lands shots, and usually somebody gets hurt.

Look a little wider and the trend leans towards goals, with six of the last seven meetings going over 2.5. Celtic have also failed to keep a clean sheet in four straight against Motherwell. That’s the angle that stands out most. Motherwell know how to bother them, especially at home, and Celtic rarely keep this side quiet for long.

We Predict: Both Teams To Score

We’re backing Both Teams To Score at 8/15 here, and that price feels fair enough for a game with this shape. Our betting guides hub is a useful companion here because it pulls together all of our core football betting explainers so you can jump straight to the market or strategy you need. Motherwell’s home record gives them a real route into the match, while Celtic’s away numbers suggest they’ll create enough to find the net. Neither defence has looked impenetrable in this fixture lately, and Celtic have gone four meetings without a clean sheet against Motherwell. That’s hard to ignore.

The most likely score is 1-1. It fits the way Motherwell have handled stronger sides at Fir Park, and it also fits Celtic’s habit of scoring without always locking opponents out. You can make a case for Celtic nicking it late, but the safer read is that both teams land a punch and leave with a point. If you want an alternative angle, over 2.5 goals has a decent case too, although BTTS feels the cleaner play.