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Celtic v Rangers
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Kick Off: Sunday 15th December at 15:30
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Competition: Scottish League Cup
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Watch Live: Premier Sports 1
The first silverware of the Scottish season will be decided on Sunday when Celtic and Rangers clash in what promises to be an explosive League Cup final.
Celtic have been the dominant force domestically all season but they will meet a resurgent Rangers side at Hampden that are in their best form of the campaign by some distance.
Both clubs come into this encounter with high hopes of lifting the trophy, and that should make for a thrilling spectacle.
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Everything heading into this game points to a high card count, from the rivalry between the clubs to the tension of a cup final and, most importantly, referee John Beaton, who is not shy about dishing out cards.
Beaton oversaw the previous Old Firm match this season, a 3-0 Celtic win in August. It was marked by 9 yellow cards. This is very much in keeping with the way he referees. In the 20 games he has officiated this season, 9 have produced 7 or more cards and he has not officiated a match that will be was easily ignited as this encounter.
That game earlier this season was not even particularly exceptional as far as these derbies go. In the last year, 2 of the 5 fixtures between these sides that have produced over 10 cards.
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Celtic are a prolific side and even amid Rangers’ recent improvement, the Ibrox club face a very real prospect of conceding in both halves against a very accomplished opponent.
The Hoops average 1.4 first-half goals in the Scottish Premiership and 1.53 after the break, they scored in both halves in the only previous head-to-head game this season.
Celtic’s general dominance of Scottish football is reflected in the corner count that they generate on a weekly basis in the Premiership. They post 9.8 corners per match – 3.4 more than Rangers. With this in mind, they are likely to give themselves every chance of winning more of these situations than their rivals.
This is likely to be a fiery match with a high card count, just as the previous clash between these teams was. Rangers picked up 5 cards on that occasion to Celtic’s 4, while the overall disciplinary record of the Gers this season is significantly worse than their Glasgow rivals.
Clement’s side have seen 33 cards in the Premiership, Celtic just 19.
👕 Celtic v Rangers Predicted XI
🔍 Celtic v Rangers Players to Watch
🟢 Kyogo Furuhashi
Celtic’s Japan international striker simply loves playing Rangers and has a famously strong record in Old Firm matches.
Furuhashi has netted 6 times in his last 6 league matches against the Gers, grabbing Celtic’s second in the August league fixture, while he was the hero in his previous League Cup final appearance as he scored both goals in a 2-1 victory.
After grabbing a goal-of-the-season contender last week against Hibs, his confidence should be soaring.
🔵 Nicolas Raskin
Former Belgium U21 international Raskin is a leading contender to pick up a card in this encounter. He has already been cautioned 5 times in just 12 Premiership appearances, which hints towards the type of gritty defensive player he is.
A superb performance against Tottenham in midweek surely guarantees that he will start. He will be expected to defend tigerishly and get in the face of the Celtic midfielders, yet after expending so much energy against Tottenham, he will do well to avoid a fatigued-induced misjudgement that leads to a card.
Raskin was booked in last season’s Scottish Cup final and with the card-happy Beaton overseeing this game, he will do well to avoid another.
🟢 Nicolas Kuhn
Kuhn has only seen 6 cards since he joined Celtic from Rapid Vienna last January, making him an unlikely candidate to be tipped in this market, yet the German has a knack of picking up a card in these derby clashes.
The 24-year-old has started 3 matches against Rangers and has been booked in all of these games, including last season’s Scottish Cup final, in which he was cautioned in the final minute. He was shown a yellow card by referee Beaton when the sides met earlier this season, confirming his penchant for seeing a card in these games.
📂 Celtic v Rangers Cheat Sheet
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💻 Celtic v Rangers Form and Tactics
Celtic look well on their way to another Scottish Premiership title after winning 14 of their first 15 league games of the season. Indeed, victory in this encounter would see the eyes of Brendan Rodgers’ side set on a treble.
The Hoops have equipped themselves superbly this season, losing only 1 of their first 24 competitive matches of the season across all competitions, putting them well on course to qualify in the Champions League, too.
Domestically, they have scored an astounding 58 goals in 18 matches at an average of 3.22 per game. They have conceded only 7. Such is their squad depth, when they have rotated, they have appeared to be just as dominant.
Even in their previous match against Rangers, they achieved a one-sided 3-0 victory. A more competitive encounter here is expected based on the form of the Gers, who are undefeated in their last 9 games, winning 6 of them.
Philippe Clements’ side will have taken particular confidence from the manner in which stretched Tottenham in midweek. The Ibrox club were the better side in a high-octane encounter that finished 1-1, and the dynamic structure that they employed in that game will provide the template for how they will wish to approach this fixture.
Rangers, though, poured a huge amount of energy into that clash against Spurs, playing at a tremendous tempo, and the test for them will be doing the same versus a Celtic side that has had an extra 48 hours to recover.
🏁 Celtic v Rangers Ref Watch
- Referee: John Beaton
- Beaton has overseen 20 matches already this season, during which he has brandished 111 cards, including 4 reds, at a rate of 5.55 per game.
- He took charge of the only Old Firm match of the season to date, with 9 yellow cards shown in that Parkhead clash.
- He averages 23.29 fouls per game this season, with his average in the Scottish Premiership 23.0.
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* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
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