Celtic, Scottish champions for the last five seasons are well on course to make it six in a row. Sixteen points clear by Christmas; it wasn’t expected to be this straightforward but 18 wins out of 19, and the title trophy is already being adorned in green and white ribbons.
Victory for Rangers on Saturday won’t stop Celtic being crowned champions but it will slow the procession down. Returning to the top flight after a four-year absence, the Gers have settled back into the old order, rising to second behind their city neighbours and beginning to open up a gap to Aberdeen and Hearts.
But what they really want is to burst the Celtic bubble. To deflate the Bhoys dominance of the national football scene and return to the top of the pile themselves. A harsh lesson was handed out at Parkhead earlier this season with Rangers on the wrong end of a 5 – 1 drubbing but this, the first meeting between the two sides on New Year’s Eve, offers the perfect opportunity to make history on a historic occasion.
RANGERS
Mark Warburton may sit back and think things are going well but the pressure is mounting with Celtic running away with the Premiership, discontent at not being closer to their local rivals is mounting. The former Brentford coach deserves credit for getting the Gers back to the top two but with goals at a premium, it’s been hard work. They have only scored 15 goals in their ten home games and whilst they have been tight defensively, it’s not an encouraging stat when facing their free-scoring neighbours.
The manager isn’t blind to that either. He called on his players to “test the [opposition] ‘keeper more” and this would be a hell of a game to put that record right. The 1 – 5 drubbing at Celtic Park rests heavily on the club’s psyche and the need to erase that result from the memory runs deep. It will take a momentous effort for that to happen. Rangers may be second but the standard of the Premiership dropping to seasoned watchers, the deeper issues of the national game aren’t going to be quickly solved.
Rangers’ fans don’t care; they want the win, the bragging rights. That’s all that matters this Hogmanay. After four years out of the top flight, moving into second and seeing the starting of a gap to appear to third is some achievement. Not to Scotland’s most successful club in domestic competition, it isn’t. Realism in football is in short supply and the shine of silverware in the trophy cabinet is all that supporters want to see.
Kenny Miller and Martin Waghorn are the key players to make that happen but with four goals each, the extent of Rangers problems in front of goal become immediately apparent. Defensively, they have been in good form. Only the other top four clubs have scored more than once against them this season and none of them have happened at Ibrox. They will take great spirit from beating Hearts 2 – 0 and Aberdeen 2 – 1, at home earlier this month but this really is a step up in quality.
If the stars are aligned, the fates contrive to put them into the perfect circumstances, then a win is possible. But the one thing Rangers fans will demand is fight rather than the tired capitulation in September.
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CELTIC
Eighteen wins out of nineteen? Only another eight more undefeated to go to beat their 2013-14 run of 26 games before suffering their first defeat in the league. No-one would bet against it either. Game 28 is Rangers at home; it’s written in the stars, isn’t it? Visiting teams have packed their defences at Celtic Park but away from home the Bhoys are on fire, scoring eleven goals in their last three games. The treble registered at Hamilton took their tally to 26 on their travels in 9 games, underlining their dominance of the Scottish Premiership.
But this one is different. The first league meeting at Ibrox since 2012 in what was a tempestuous affair with red cards for Cha Du-ri and Victor Wanyama inside the first hour. Nonetheless, Celtic made it a nervy final few minutes for Rangers as they pulled their rivals back to 2 – 3 from 0 – 3 down. It wasn’t enough but underlines the intensity of the fixture. Brendan Rodgers may have managed a Merseyside derby but as he found in September, this is on another level.
Celtic are scoring for fun with Dembele, Griffiths, Sinclair and Armstrong scoring more between them than Rangers entire squad. Stuart Armstrong has scored in the last two, having gone three without a goal. His eight goals from the left indicate the potency of Celtic’s attack. They don’t concede many either with only St Johnstone and Motherwell scoring more than once against them on the road. However, it’s Europe which provides the biggest challenge for the Scottish champions. Battered in this season’s Champions League, it’s hard to see their competitiveness improving while the Premiership is so poor.
Brendan Rodgers opted not to rotate his side for the visit of Ross County to Glasgow earlier this week with Stuart Christie the only non-regular in the starting line-up but using his substitutes wisely has kept his squad fresh. The Northern Irishman downplayed the importance of this derby when he noted that the Celtic start had been so good, this result wasn’t important. Try telling that to the fans.
Even though they profess to be not overly-bothered by this one and carrying themselves with an air of nonchalance, the Celtic supporters know that six titles in a row is inevitable and being a country mile ahead of everyone else, a record-breaking ten in a row is the target.
FORM (Last six games)
Rangers: LWWWWD
Celtic: WWWWWW
STATS
- Rangers need three more goals at Ibrox to take them to 250 league goals scored in home matches against Celtic
- Celtic have won just one of the last seven league matches between the two sides at Ibrox (D1, L5)
- Rangers have six clean sheets in their last eight Premiership home games
- Celtic have been ahead at half-time and won at full-time in their last six Premiership matches
- September was the third time Celtic have beaten Rangers 5 – 1. On the previous two occasions, the following match at Ibrox ended in a 2 – 2 draw (1967 & 1999)
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CURRENT MATCH ODDS (BEST PRICED ODDS)
Rangers: 19/5 (with Betfair Sportsbook) - Bet Here! Draw: 3/1 (with BetFred) - Bet Here! Celtic: 4/5 (with William Hill) - Bet Here!
HEAD TO HEAD
Last six meetings
23-10-2016 Scottish League Cup - Rangers 0 – 1 Celtic
10-09-2016 Scottish Premiership - Celtic 5 – 1 Rangers
17-04-2016 Scottish Cup - Rangers 2 – 2 Celtic
01-02-2015 Scottish League Cup - Celtic 2 – 0 Rangers
29-04-2012 SPL - Celtic 3 – 0 Rangers
25-03-2012 SPL - Rangers 3 – 2 Celtic
SUMMING UP!
Even though history points to a 2 – 2 draw, that would be a major surprise. Celtic are streets ahead of the rest of the Scottish top flight, including Rangers. The Blues are still recovering from the after-effects of their demotion and even though they have returned to the summit, others have continued to move forward. Being second is a creditable performance but the misty-eyed supporters dream of more.
Pride will spur them on against Celtic but it’s hard to see anything other than an away win. But the football adage is that the form book goes out of the window. If Celtic lose, it will be out of print with all copies pulped!
MY PREDICTION
Rangers 1 – 3 Celtic (14/1 with William Hill – Bet here!)
MY RECOMMENDED BETS
- Correct score, 2 – 2 draw (15/1 with Bet Victor – Bet here!)
- Rangers to win and over 2.5 goals (11/2 with Boylesports – Bet here!)
- Moussa Dembele to score 2+ goals (9/1 with Betfred – Bet here!)
- Patrick Roberts, first goalscorer (8/1 with Boylesports – Bet here!)
- Celtic HT/FT (9/5 with Coral – Bet here!)
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