Soccer

Celtic v Rangers - Football: Old Firm rivals collide

bet365 News Team Published: Apr 30 2022 12:57

Celtic are in the driving seat to reclaim the Scottish Premiership title and victory over Old Firm rivals Rangers on Sunday could all but guarantee them top spot.

The Bhoys head into Sunday's clash at Celtic Park sitting six points clear of second-placed Rangers with four games left to play.

Celtic are 5/6 to pick up the three points on home soil against 10/3 Rangers with the draw priced at 13/5.

Rocky start firmly in the past

Ange Postecoglou was drafted in over the summer to get Celtic back on top after Rangers claimed their first title in 10 years in 2020/21.

The Australian's appointment raised a few eyebrows and his suitability for the role was questioned further when they lost to 3-2 on aggregate to Midtjylland in the second qualifying round of the Champions League.

Celtic also went on to lose their opening league game of the campaign, going down 2-1 at Hearts, and it looked set to be another tough season.

However, things started to click shortly after as they qualified for the Europa League and started to pick some positive results in the Premiership.

Successive 6-0 home wins over Dundee and St Mirren settled tensions but Celtic were brought crashing back down to earth when they travelled to Rangers on 29th August.

Gers sealed a 1-0 win to land their first damaging blow of the term and Postecoglou was immediately thrust back under the spotlight.

Postecoglou quickly got his side back on track and they've tasted defeat on just one further occasion in the league and they head into Sunday's Old Firm clash unbeaten in 28 Premiership outings.

They even managed to earn revenge over their cross-city rivals, winning 3-0 at Celtic Park in February and sealing a 2-1 win at Ibrox on 3rd April.

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Europa could be distraction for Rangers

Rangers led the way in the Premiership until 2nd February when they suffered a 3-0 loss at Celtic Park and Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who replaced Steven Gerrard in November, hasn't been able to get his side back on top.

The Dutchman has only lost twice in the league since his appointment but both of those defeats have come against Celtic and could prove costly in the title race.

He did manage to guide Rangers to a 2-1 extra win over Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-finals and they'll take on Hearts in the final on 21st May.

Winning silverware is key for any manager at Ibrox and Van Bronckhorst has his side in the running for potential honours in Europe.

They could be excused for not having their full focus on the league, although fans may be disappointed if they come away on the losing side in the Old Firm derby, as they gear up for Thursday's Europa League semi-final second-leg at home to RB Leipzig.

Rangers lost the first-leg 1-0 earlier this week and it's all to play for when they welcome the Bundesliga side to Glasgow.

Van Bronckhorst insists his side are focussed on earning some revenge over Celtic and has played down suggestions that he could rest key figures ahead of their European tie.

But it will be interesting to see if he opts to rotate slightly and gambles on trying to get his side through to the final of the Europa League.

Depleted Rangers may struggle

Even if Van Bronckhorst opts to go with his strongest XI, he's still set to be without some of his big names due to injury.

Top scorer Alfredo Morelos has been sidelined since 20th March and won't feature again this term due to a thigh injury, while Ianis Hagi has been out since January with a knee injury.

Celtic, meanwhile, are only without Josip Juranovic and that could prove hugely beneficial for Postecoglou's men as they look to take a huge step toward the title.

Goals have been on the agenda in recent meetings, with over 2.5, which can be backed at 4/5, scored in each of the last three.

Exploring the cards market could also be worthwhile with the Old Firm normally proving to be an intense battle with plenty of fierce challenges and over six cards can be backed at 6/4.