SlipsTips Tips: Celtic vs Rangers

SlipsTips shares two selections from Saturday's Old Firm showdown between Celtic and Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.

Celtic vs Rangers (Saturday, 12:30)

Celtic and Rangers renew hostilities in a hotly-anticipated Old Firm showdown at Celtic Park on Saturday lunchtime.

The two arch-rivals are currently separated by five points, though the Light Blues have played two games fewer than that of the reigning champions.

After suffering back-to-back defeats for the first time since 2013 a fortnight ago, Brendan Rodgers’ side have got back up and running courtesy of 2-0 and 3-0 wins over both Livingston and Dundee respectively.

Meanwhile, Rangers extended their unbeaten run under Philippe Clement to 16 matches with a comfortable 2-0 win over Motherwell on Christmas Eve, in a game that brought up both of my Fir Park plays.

Celtic are worthy favourites here but given that the Old Firm derby is notoriously difficult to call I’m happy to instead highlight a player-based selection.

Rangers defender Leon Balogun has been priced up at 5/6 with SkyBet to commit just one foul during this Old Firm derby and those odds hold plenty of appeal.

Balogun has become a key cog in Rangers’ revival under Philippe Clement but it would be fair to say the veteran defender will face his biggest test of the season this weekend.

While the Light Blues centre-half has a low fouls per-game average this term, he has only started eight league games this term, not to mention he did give away a foul at Fir Park against Motherwell last time out.

Given that latest opponents and league leaders Celtic boast an array of attacking quality in forward areas, coupled with the Bhoys' being backed by a fervent home crowd, siding with the aforementioned Balogun to commit a solitary foul stands out at 5/6 (SkyBet).

With sparks certain to fly at Celtic Park on Saturday, I’m also prepared to have small play on Balogun to commit two or more fouls during this dust-up at an eye-catching 4/1 (SkyBet).