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Celtic v Rangers
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Kick Off: Saturday 11th May at 12:30
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Competition: Scottish Premiership
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Watch Live: Sky Sports Main Event
Arch rivals Celtic and Rangers collide on a day of reckoning in this season’s Premiership title race on Sunday in what is already gearing up to be another explosive Old Firm Derby.
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For Celtic, circumstances could hardly be more favourable and with a three-point lead to protect, home advantage to enjoy and no away fans to support the visitors, Brendan Rodgers’ Bhoys can all but seal the title with a win.
However, a victory for Rangers in their neighbour’s backyard would blow the Premiership title race wide open with two games left to contest.
Celtic v Rangers Best Bets
➡️ Celtic to win @ 1.83 on Paddy Power
➡️ Over 6.5 cards @ 1.83 on Betfair
📂 Celtic v Rangers Cheat Sheet
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⚔️ Celtic v Rangers Head-to-Head
Sunday’s clash will be the fourth and final Premiership encounter of the campaign between Celtic and Rangers, though the Glaswegian giants have an FA Cup Final date to attend later this month.
Unbeaten in Old Firm Derbies this term, Celtic have managed to claim seven points from their last three skirmishes with Rangers, running up an aggregate score of 6-4 against their bitter antagonists.
Unsurprisingly, tempers flared in previous meetings between the clubs this season and the last battle between Celtic and Rangers at Celtic Park in late December last year featured a bone-crunching 32 fouls and 11 cards.
Rangers were ousted 2-1 on that occasion and Celtic Park has been a less than happy hunting ground for the Gers in recent years. Indeed, Rangers have lost four and drawn two of their last six visits to the green side of town, with their last victory at Parkhead secured in October 2020 (2-0).
In addition, the three previous Premiership tussles between the sides in 2023/24 averaged a shin-splintering 39 tackles per game and Sunday’s scuffle should be just as keenly contested.
Six goals hit the net when the teams last met at Ibrox Stadium on April 7th in a mesmerising 3-3 draw and seven of the last nine iterations of the Old Firm Derby have produced over 2.5 goals overall.
Celtic star Kyogo Furuhashi found the net in two out of three Old Firm Derbies this term and the 29-year-old Japanese international has scored seven career goals against Rangers overall.
📊 Celtic Form and Stats
Celtic have won five of their last six assignments in the Premiership with their only slight setback during that run coming in their aforementioned six goals thriller against Rangers last month.
The Hoops take excellent overall form into Sunday’s titanic showdown having lost only once in 17 games in all competitions, while Celtic have only tasted defeat once in the Premiership on home soil this season.
Celtic Park is one of Scottish football’s most formidable strongholds and the Bhoys have been toppled on their own patch only once in 61 home Premiership fixtures since January 2021.
Brendan Rodgers’ title favourites have been scoring at a rate of 2.42 goals per game this season and 2.64 per fixture at Celtic Park in Scotland’s top tier, while only Hearts (eight) have kept more clean sheets on home soil.
Celtic have slightly lower xGF (90.74) than Rangers (92.01), however, the defending champions have outgunned their rivals for actual goals (85-78) and their superior goal difference could be significant come the end of the month.
Matt O’Riley (1.10), Kyogo Furuhashi (1.30) and James Forrest (2.20) are listed among the club’s better performers for shots on target per 90, though loanee and super sub Adam Idah (2.30) – who scored off the bench against Rangers in April – has been shaping up well in that department when offered chances to shine.
📊 Rangers Form and Stats
Rangers warmed up for Sunday’s crucial derby with a comfortable 4-1 triumph over Kilmarnock at Ibrox, though the Gers’ run of just one win in three attempts on the road has put a massive spike through their title hopes.
Philippe Clement’s side have lost twice as many league matches (six) as Celtic (three) overall this season, though half of those defeats were suffered inside the campaign’s first seven rounds under previous boss Michael Beale and Rangers have been playing catch-up since.
Rangers have a better defensive record than Celtic, conceding just 25 times in 35 fixtures compared to the Hoops’ goals-against tally of 25, while the Gers have also been setting the standard in terms of average shots conceded per game (7.70).
The Gers have also collected fewer yellow cards (37) than every other outfit in the division, though Old Firm Derbies are generally outliers when it comes to average cards accumulated for obvious reasons.
Rangers have clocked 52.43 in xGF at home in the Premiership this term, though their figure for away matches sits at 39.58, which is a significant drop-off and they’ve been hitting the net just 1.88 times per away fixture in 2023/24 – a modest output for a team with title-winning aspirations.
James Tavernier, who has scored five goals in Old Firm Derbies, is Rangers’ leading marksman this season with 17 goals, though a whopping 12 of those efforts were struck from the penalty spot.
Cyriel Dessers has 14 goals from open play this term, and the Belgian has scored once every 146.5 minutes on average in the Premiership since last summer.
💰 Celtic v Rangers Best Bets
Celtic have won seven of their last eight home fixtures in the Premiership and each of their last three encounters with rivals Rangers at Celtic Park, and with home advantage likely to be key again, there is excellent value on the Hoops to win at 1.83 with Paddy Power.
Rangers will have to compete at Parkhead without the backing of their away supporters and having failed to beat rivals Celtic in each of the clubs’ three previous meetings this season, they are easy to oppose.
Elsewhere, backing over 6.5 cards appeals at 1.83 on Betfair. 11 cards (ten yellow, one red) were dished out by referee Nick Walsh when the teams last locked horns at Celtic Park in December and with Sunday’s derby a potential title decider, tension levels should be similarly high.
* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
Written by an Andy verified content writer
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