Celtic V Motherwell at Celtic Park - Match Preview

Celtic V Motherwell - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game live.Dons give Brown pause for thoughtSkipper Scott Brown admits he has mixed feelings about the pressure Aberdeen are putting on Celtic's Scottish Premiership title.The Hoops have cruised to their last two championship wins in the absence of traditional rivals Rangers.And even in season 2011/12, the Ibrox club's challenge collapsed as off-field problems led to them re-emerging in the bottom tier following their descent into administration then liquidation.Ronny Deila's side, however, are currently battling with the Dons at the top of the table.After impressive wins over Kilmarnock and Hamilton in their last two outings, following the loss of five points against Dundee United and Ross County, Celtic have two games in hand over Derek McInnes' side, whose 3-3 home draw against Dundee at the weekend ended their eight-game league winning run.Consequently, the champions will leapfrog Aberdeen into top place with a win over Motherwell at Parkhead on Wednesday night, a prospect with which Brown feels more at ease.Asked about the first semblance of a challenge to their title in several years, the Scotland captain said: "It is always good, especially when Rangers were in the league, looking over your shoulder and looking at their result."But it has also been great winning the league by 15 or 20 points as well

So it's catch-22."When we were top of the league (this season) we thought we would keep going and going and that would be us to the end of the season but we had a slight slip-up against Dundee United"The last couple of games we have showed how good we are, creating chances and scoring goals."It's been a great contest (with Aberdeen) but we have a couple of games in hand to catch back up and go top of the league - where we should be."If we can win the two games in hand we would go four points clear - it would be good for us."Midfielder Charlie Mulgrew and forward Anthony Stokes are back in contention for the clash with Motherwell after recovering from respective knee and calf injuries.Defender Mikael Lustig, winger James Forrest and midfielder Beram Kayal are also in the frame after more work on the training ground.Winger Aleksandar Tonev is still suspended.Meanwhile, Stephen Pearson swapped one Indian summer for another by returning for a second spell at Motherwell.The veteran midfielder, 32, signed on Monday until the end of the season for the Fir Park club, where he started his career which took him to Celtic, Derby, Stoke and Bristol City.Pearson, capped 10 times for Scotland, trained with Well in the close season, but a deal failed to materialise so he joined Indian Premier League side Kerala Blasters, playing 17 games before the season finished last month.He goes straight into the side for the Scottish Premiership clash with Celtic, looking back fondly on his most recent football experience.He said: "My old team-mate David James from Bristol City, who was the player-manager of the team over in India, gave me the call and I jumped at the chance to go out and experience something different."It's not as frenetic and the tempo is not as high, given the heat and humidity."But the standard was good I thoroughly enjoyed my time there."The crowds were massive and that was something I wasn't aware of before going out

Every stadium was sold out pretty much

They're passionate about their football."I think we had the highest average attendances over there which was brilliant."They've got the money there and the population and I think that is what will make it a big success."I think it is only going to go from strength to strength in the coming years."The club I was at are open to any good quality players if the opportunity came up for any players from Scotland to go I would certainly tell them to consider it."Pearson, though, is glad to return to a club which was pivotal for his career."I came here as a young boy and this was where I made my name," he said."At the time there were a lot of young players given the opportunity to go on and show what they can do."In that respect I couldn't thank Motherwell enough for giving me the opportunity."I've never played against Celtic since I left

But I'm representing Motherwell and here to win for them

That's my main concern."Steven Hammell, Simon Ramsden and Craig Moore are set to return to the Motherwell squad

Source : PA

Source: PA