Contrasting fortunes have conspired to seperate Celtic and Hamilton by a league length before they meet today. Can Hamilton start their fight back up the league today?

Hamilton manager Billy Reid has a couple of injury problems to contend with while he waits for to welcome Celtic to New Douglas Park. Lucas Akins has a hamstring strain, Mark Corcoran is likely to be out of contention due to a hip injury and Mark McLaughlin suffered a slight knock to his knee in midweek at Hearts but is expected to be fit for today's game. A run of eight games without a win in all competitions has left Accies reeling and stuck at the bottom of the table. However manager Reid thinks that a couple of overdue wins are all they need to kick-start their season and rediscover their earlier form. Accies made an impressive start to life in the top flight, suggesting the relegation issue would be far from clear-cut this term. However, games have slipped away from them and some observers are now suggesting being bottom of the table is exactly where the First Division champions are expected to be after the first quarter of their first season in the SPL for two decades. Reid insists recent games have shown there is plenty more to come from his players, albeit a visit from Celtic is about as hard a task as Hamilton could ask for right now.

He said: "A couple of wins is all we need, although that's easier said than done. We need to get these wins. We are playing Celtic and I look at the records of some of the other teams against Celtic and Rangers and it's incredible, they've hardly beaten them for years. It's a home game, in front of the cameras, and we're looking forward to it." Reid is keenly aware of just how difficult it is to stop an in-form Celtic from taking three points home but insists his players can take heart from their performance against Rangers last month. He said: "The bottom line is that Celtic have got better players than us and, if they play to their potential, they will beat us. We've got to make sure we stop Celtic playing and we will be out to do that on Sunday. We gave Rangers a run for their money at home and hopefully we get the luck this time."

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan has named an unchanged squad for the trip to Hamilton from the players that played at Parkhead on Wednesday night. The side have coped without Aiden McGeady, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Chris Killen, Glenn Loovens, Artur Boruc and Marc Crosas who are all still out with various ailments. Meanwhile, Gary Caldwell is confident that Celtic can handle the pressure of leading the SPL but are are also capable of winning it by coming from behind. After being three points adrift of their rivals following their 4-2 defeat at Parkhead at the end of August, the champions responded by winning their next nine SPL games to top the table. Celtic won their third title in a row last season by winning their last seven games to take the prize on the final day of the season. Caldwell insists the Parkhead squad's experience of facing both types of pressure will help them during this campaign. He said: "It's never over until it's over. Pressure effects everyone. We saw that last season. Rangers had a lot of games to play (at the end) and we knew that if we kept chipping away then they might crack and they did. But we found out how difficult it was to keep chasing, it's very hard when you can't afford any slip-ups. We knew we couldn't lose any more games and we didn't. But we also know what being in front is like from previous seasons. You have to keep winning and putting pressure on and hopefully we can do that in the next few weeks. But, however far in front we are, it doesn't matter until it's won and there is still a long way to go."

Amidst the recent injury crisis, young striker Cillian Sheridan has impressed in his partnership with last season's top scorer Scott McDonald. Caldwell praised the striker for stepping up to the Hoops' first team with such assurance. He said: "Young Cillian had a lot of pressure put upon him to lead the line and, for a boy so young, he has done that great. The two goals he scored on Wednesday night were a big reward for him and he really deserved it. He still has a lot to learn but he showed that he is capable of playing for this club, and if he learns from the players that are coming back and improves further then he will play lots of games for Celtic."

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