RANGERS were lauded as European heroes in midweek as they stormed into a sensational Europa League semi-finals spot, but just how much will it have taken out of them ahead of Sunday's Scottish Cup Old Firm showdown.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst's men blew away Braga at a bouncing Ibrox and have a remarkable spot in the last four to look forward to when they play RB Leipzig.
But in Glasgow, that will be all forgotten about come 2pm on Sunday when they face a Hoops side who seem to have Rangers' measure this season.
Twice van Bronckhorst has faced Ange Postecoglou and twice Rangers have come unstuck which has led to severe criticism of the Dutchman, not least among their own fans.
Celtic are on a fantastic run of form too and they have a real chance of winning a treble in the Australian's first season if they can defeat their rivals at Hampden.
Rangers were taken to extra time by the ten-man Portuguese side who were later reduced to nine men. And there were a few Rangers stars who looked dead on their feet after a gruelling 120 minutes.
And you can be sure those extra 30 minutes would have been welcomed by Postecoglou ahead of this semi-fina,
How the bookies view it
Celtic have been steadily backed for most of the week and are now around evens, although McBookie.com are going 11/10 on a Hoops win. Rangers are as big as 11/4 with VBet and the draw is 28/11 with SBK.
The Parkhead side are 4/6 with William Hill to qualify and Rangers are 7/5 with Boylesports.
Recent head to heads
Celtic triumphed 2-1 at Ibrox a couple of weeks ago as can be seen below. It's a result that looks certain to see them win the title.
Players to watch
Kyoko Furuhashi finally made his reappearance from injury last week in Celtic's 7-0 thumping of St Johnstone and he could get the nod after a further week's training. The Japanese playmaker has scored a total of 16 goals this season and is 11/8 with McBookie.com to net.
Kemar Roofe was Man of the Match against Braga and put in a shift. If he gets the nod again, he could be value at 2/1 to score anytime with the same firm.
Anything else catch the eye?
A fresher and motivated Celtic can make it three wins in a row here against a Rangers side who must be tired after their European exploits.
Even without that midweek game, Celtic would be favourites – they have won six games in a row and appear to know how to neutralise Rangers. They will bolt out the blocks at Hampden to try and catch Rangers off guard and William Hill's 27/10 for a half time and full time Hoops win has to have a shout too.
There were a few simmering feuds brewing from the last game and with these battles coming in quick succession and with this being such a pressure point of a game, the 3/1 from bet365 for a red card in the game is tempting.
This Scottish Cup match between Celtic and Rangers will be played on Apr 17, 2022 and kick off at 14:00. 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.