IT'S an Old Firm showdown for the first trophy of the Scottish season on Sunday when Celtic and Rangers clash at Hampden in the Premier Sports Cup Final.
And there's a lovely little added incentive too – the clubs are tied on 118 trophies apiece!
In the league, there's little doubt that Celtic have been streets ahead of their city rival and currently have a huge 11 points lead with Rangers still in third.
And their manager Brendan Rodgers seems to have a serious Indian sign over opposite number Philippe Clement with the a major part of the Belgian manager's job scrutiny coming because he has been unable to lay a glove on Celtic.
But Rangers do seem to have improved considerably recently domestically after Clement started playing more directly and introduced Hamza Igamana, Danilo and Ianis Hagi which has really given them a more attacking edge.
However, Celtic continue to look levels above anyone else in Scottish football and when they are on their game, they look untouchable – a fact even Rangers fans would surely reluctantly concede.
Both sides were in European action in midweek where Celtic accepted a point from Croatia in an underwhelming goalless draw against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.
And Rangers took plenty of plaudits from their excellent display against Spurs although it came at a cost with key defender John Souttar injured.
How the bookies view it: Money has come for Hoops
Celtic started this off at around evens when the market first went up but the shrewdies snapped that up and it's long gone.
Now, Celtic are 7/10 with 888sport and Rangers can be backed at 18/5 with Betfred. The draw is 16/5 with McBookie.com.
Recent head to heads: One-way traffic
It's been painful viewings for Rangers fans with Celtic constantly having their measure. Celtic have won five of the last six games with the other one a draw.
Celtic have already battered Rangers 3-0 at Parkhead this season and even Rangers'last win 19 months ago was a meaningless encounter because the Hoops had already won the league.
Rangers have won just one of the last 13 meetings.
Players to watch: Deadly Daizen
Daizen Maeda seems to take sadistic delight in torturing Rangers and the Japanese flying machine just loves a goal against them too. He opened the scoring in September and is 12/5 to score anytime with bet365.
Hamza Igmane has been a revelation recently for Rangers and the Moroccan has been in fine scoring form, including a midweek strike against Spurs. He is 16/5 with UniBet to score anytime.
Predicted line-ups
Celtic face a real sweat over key right back Alistair Johnston after the Canadian international took a knock in their midweek game. They have a clean bill of health apart from that.
Rangers welcome back Ianis Hagi and Danilo with both excluded from their European squads. Oscar Cortes is also back in contention. However, as stated, Souttar looks set to miss out.
Celtic: Schmeichel, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Taylor, McGregor, Hatate, Bernardo, Kuhn, Kyogo, Maeda.
Rangers: Butland, Sterling, Balogun, Propper, Jefte, Raskin, Diomande, Cerny, Bajrami, Barron, Igamane.
Anything else catch the eye?
There's little doubt that if both teams played to their potential, Celtic would run out winners, but Cup Finals at Hampden don't always work like that.
Rangers' recent change of system has made them look far more threatening and they are capable of making this an entertaining clash. They have improved and Celtic haven't quite hit the heights in their last three games.
There have been optimistic Celtic fans hoping for a Hampden hammering but recent games in the national stadium have always been close and this should be no difference.
Celtic to have a winning margin of one goal at 13/5 with Boylesports looks to have a real chance.
As stated, there should be goals here and both teams to score and a Hoops win at 12/5 with bet365 looks a very good shout too.
For a quirky one, how about McBookie.com's 13/8 on both teams to score, over 8 corners and over 2 cards.
This Scottish League Cup match between Celtic and Rangers will be played on Dec 15, 2024 and kick off at 15:30. Check below for our tipsters best Celtic vs Rangers prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
