Celtic v Rangers
Sunday, 12:00pm
Live on Sky Sports Main Event
Sunday, 12:00pm
Live on Sky Sports Main Event
It's all been for this. Celtic go into the weekend top of the Scottish Premiership with a season record of 22 wins, nine draws and three defeats. Not nearly as impressive as last season's invincibles but The Hoops are on the verge of another title win as well as the double-treble. Fans love silverware but the chance to beat Rangers at Parkhead and get their hands on seven in-a-row will be special.
Brendan Rodgers has spent the week being heavily linked with the Arsenal job, but London will be far from his mind as he walks the champions in-waiting out in front of a jubilant support. This is Celtic's day in the sun and they're not about to let anyone ruin it - least of all a team from across the city who they hammered just a fortnight ago. The betting can't see past a strong home win and it's difficult to make a case for anything else.
Rangers in turmoil
Only the dyed-in-wool Rangers fans expected their club to beat Celtic in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup two weeks ago. The long-suffering blues followers have been forced to forget the past and become realists - but even those in Govan suffering a confidence crisiscouldn't have predicted just how bad it would've gone at the national stadium.
Celtic eased to a 4-0 win (it could've been eight) but that was the least of their problems. The performance from the players was tootheless, the manager clueless and the support left feeling hopeless for the future. Andy Halliday was hooked off five minutes before half-time and raged at a fan on his way towards the bench. Daniel Candeias didn't wait about, walking up the tunnel and missing the rest of the match when taken off after 53 minutes.
Stand-in coach Graeme Murty has already been told his services won't be required beyond the end of the season. Most fans want him to go now.
Don't miss the incredible value on Celtic
Despite the sorry state Rangers finding themselves in, as well as failing to win three of their last five league starts, Betfair Sportsbook traders are offering a fantastic 1/2 about the home win and that looks unmissable. On paper - taking the derby factor out of it for a minute - this is a home team who know they will lift the title with victory against an opponent in poor form and only three points better than fourth-placed Hibs.
Those with a bit more bottle can take advantage of the handicap betting and play Celtic -1 at 7/5 or Celtic to win both halves at 11/4 - both available on the Sportsbook. They certainly make a lot more appeal than the Rangers upset at 6.40.
Not even stopping their gloating rivals from winning the title for a week would be enough to appease Rangers fans and that tells everything we need to know about the mood in their camp.
Performance to match the occasion
The Celtic faithful don't just want to win the league and stick the boot into Rangers, they want to score a few goals and do it in style. Recent meetings between the clubs suggest that's highly likely with the green and whites putting nine past their neighbours in four previous meetings. Three of those four has seen at least one team fail to find the net with Celtic winning 4-0 and 2-0, 0-0 the spare.
The win won't be enough for home supporters. They'll arrive in high spirits and encourage their team forward whenever they have the ball, eager to wipe the floor with what's left of Rangers. Despite the season being 34 games old, Murty still hasn't worked out who his best two central defenders are. That spells trouble. The game producing over 2.5 goals is 8/11, under 2.5 written off at 11/10 on the Betfair Sportsbook.
RECOMMENDED BETS
Back Celtic to win v Rangers @ 1/2 (Betfair Sportsbook)
Back Celtic to win both halves @ 11/4 (Betfair Sportsbook)
