Old Firm rivals Rangers and Celtic will battle it out at Hampden on Sunday afternoon for a place in the Scottish League Cup final.
Danny Rohl appears to have made a positive impact since taking charge at Rangers, as he has guided his side to back-to-back Premiership victories for the first time this season on Wednesday night.
After a 3-1 victory over Kilmarnock in his Ibrox debut on Sunday afternoon, the ex-Owls head coach saw his new side leave the Easter Road with all three points thanks to an early Danilo strike and a late Jack Butland penalty save.
The Teddy Bears also defeated Hibs 2-0 at Ibrox in the quarter-finals of the League Cup to seal their place at Hampden in the final four of the competition.
Following the dramatic news on Monday night in which Brendan Rodgers had resigned as Celtic manager, the Hoops hierarchy were swift to appoint former hero Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney as interim managers.
The Northern Irishman made a winning start to his second stint in charge of the Parkhead club on Wednesday night, cruising to a 4-0 victory over promoted Falkirk, on an evening out man Kevin Mac successfully backed two or more goals in the first half.
How the bookies view it: Hoops favourites
Despite a dramatic week, Celtic come into this semi-final as favourites to progress to the final, as they are just 3/4 at BOYLE Sports to win inside 90 minutes.
Rangers are 5/2 underdogs with the same form to make it three wins in a week, whilst it’s 11/4 for the game to go to extra time and potentially penalties.
Head to head: Four unbeaten for Gers
Perhaps a little surprisingly, Rangers are unbeaten in each of their previous four Old Firms (W2-D2-L0), with the pair playing out a goalless draw at Ibrox at the end of August.
Players to watch:
Benjamin Nygren has made an impressive start to his Celtic career, with the Swede having 11 goal involvements across his 17 appearances for The Hopps this season.
The ex-Nordsjaelland winger scored and provided an assist in Celtic’s 4-0 win over Falkirk in midweek – as well as scoring the winner against Sturm Graz in the Europa League – and the 4/5 on offer at Bet365 for the Swede to Score or Assist on Sunday appeals to me here.
Danilo has scored two goals in each of his last two appearances for Rangers, including the winner at Easter Road in midweek.
That was the Brazilians' first two goals since netting in a 3-0 victory over The Hoops in January, and he is 5/2 at Bet365 to score for the third consecutive match.
Predicted line-ups:
Celtic will be missing Alastair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Jota and Kelechi Iheanacho through injury, but Kieran Tierney and Daizen Maeda are available.
Rangers will once again be without defender Dujon Sterling, whilst Connor Barron will miss out due to suspension.
Celtic: Schmeichel, Ralston, Trusty, Scales, Tierney, McGregor, Engels, Nygren, Maeda, Tounekti, Kenny
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Djiga, Souttar, Cornelius, Meghoma, Raskin, Aasgaard, Gassama, Danilo, Chermiti
Anything else catch the eye?
These two sides played out a drab 0-0 in their last meeting at the end of August, and whilst both are under new management, I’m expecting another tight encounter.
When these two last met at Hampden in the League Cup final last season, the game went all the way to penalties.
Therefore, I’m happy to back the 11/4 on offer at BOYLE Sports for the game to last longer than 90 minutes.
GambleAware