Celtic v Rangers: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Celtic and Rangers will wage war at Hampden Park on Sunday afternoon with the Scottish League Cup final pitting Glasgow's big two into battle for the first piece of domestic silverware of the season.

The Bhoys are dominating in the Premiership - unbeaten and 11 points clear of Gers - but the Light Blues gave a fine performance against Tottenham in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday and will hope that it tees them up nicely for a crack at the Hoops.

Celtic v Rangers betting tips and predictions

Celtic to win & under 3.5 goals - 13/8

Celtic are rightfully favourites to win at Hampden Park, despite Rangers showing up well against Spurs in midweek.

That came at a packed Ibrox with a vociferous home backing and against a visiting side low on confidence.

Celtic, with just one defeat in 36 games domestically and in Europe since March, do not lack in confidence.

Rodgers has lost only once in 19 games against Rangers across his two spells with the Hoops, whereas Philippe Clement is yet to win against the Bhoys in five attempts.

The Belgian suggested this week that Celtic are "financially out of our league" and it has to be considered whether that sort of talk will hand his players a get-out clause.

The Gers' struggles pre-date Clement, of course, with just one win in the previous 13 Old Firm meetings.

Cup finals between these two bring something different to the table.

Two of the last four have ended 1-0 to Celtic. Five of the last six have yielded no more than two goals in 90 minutes, the other was a 2-1 Celtic win the season before last.

Rangers will be aiming to contain and keep things tight, while Celtic dominate the ball. The big moments will be crucial and, on recent track record, Rodgers' side are more likely to seize them.

Kyogo Furuhashi to score first - 11/2

Seizing the big moments is something Japanese striker Kyogo Furuhashi does especially well for Celtic.

He announced himself at Hampden with a brace in the League Cup final against Hibs in December 2021 and his poacher's instincts saw him score both goals as Ange Postecoglou's side retained the trophy in February 2023 with a win over Rangers in the final.

Kyogo has been a constant thorn in the Gers' side, scoring eight times in 15 games so far against the men from Govan.

His clever movement and lethal finishing in front of goal will give the Light Blues backline cause for concern and he may well make the breakthrough.

Game to be decided in extra-time - 7/1

The Scottish Cup final in May showed that Rangers are more than capable of frustrating Celtic, with Adam Idah netting the only goal in the 90th minute after Jack Butland's handling error.

The game was moments from extra-time and a stalemate after a contest of few standout chances.

Hampden Park games between this pair tend to be tight. Two of their last four League Cup finals have gone to extra-time, while their April 2022 Scottish Cup semi-final also needed an additional 30 minutes.

None of those extra-time games went to penalties, however, with a winner found before the shootout.

In fact, just once have the Glasgow rivals taken part in a penalty shootout in either of Scotland's two domestic cups, the 2016 Scottish Cup semi-final when Mark Warburton's Rangers beat Ronny Deila's Celtic.

This Glasgow derby could well end level after 90 minutes and, if it does, it has proven in the past that a price of 7/1 for either side to prevail in extra time could be of value.

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Celtic v Rangers odds

Celtic - 7/10
Draw - 16/5
Rangers - 16/5

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.