The State of Play
This week has been dominated by rumours that Rangers boss Philippe Clement is wanted by some of the leading clubs in European football but the Bears boss will be expected to continue a fine job he is doing in Glasgow. ‘Gers begin this Old Firm sitting a point behind Celtic in the Premiership table but they also have a game-in-hand, too, so victory at Ibrox could be defining for the title race.
It has been a fairly underwhelming return to Parkhead for Brendan Rodgers but the Bhoys coach is still just about in a position to earn another Scottish title. They come into this one on the back of back-to-back victories against Livingston and Saint Johnstone, scoring six goals in the process, as they recover from the 2-0 loss they suffered to Hearts at Tynecastle early last month.
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Brighton & Hove Albion vs Arsenal Preview
Crystal Palace vs Manchester City Preview
Everton vs Burnley Preview
Team News
There are several injury concerns for Rangers this weekend as Celtic make the short trip. Ridvan Yilmaz, Ryan Jack, Oscar Cortes, Kieran Dowell and Danilo are all sidelined through injury for this one.
Celtic, on the other hand, have fewer injury issues but still have some concerns either way. James McCarthy remains out with a hamstring issue and he is joined on the sidelines by Callum McGregor and Luis Palma.
Expected Line-ups
Rangers: Butland; Tavernier, Goldson, Souttar, Barisic; Diomande, Lundstram; Wright, Cantwell, Fabio Silva; Dessers
Celtic: Hart; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; O’Riley, Iwata, Hatate; Kuhn, Furuhashi, Maeda
What they Said
Philippe Clement said he does not ‘mind’ the occasional disrespect and aggression from Celtic supporters, saying that they are ‘passionate’ and ‘just showing their emotions’.
Brendan Rodgers has been backed by former Celtic defender Kieran Tierney with the Real Sociedad man saying ‘I’ve got every faith’ that Rodgers will deliver success for Celtic again.
When and How to Watch
This match will be played at Ibrox at 12:00 on Sunday April 7th and will be televised live on Sky Sports in the UK. It will also be streamed live via the Sky Go app in the UK, too.
Prediction
This Old Firm derby finally has an actual title race riding on it after years of Celtic dominance and then one season where Rangers actually ran away with it. As we head into the Scottish Premiership run in, both teams have stuttered in the last month or so but have also actually shown improvements in performances, too. They could well meet in a cup final later this season but, for now, we have another trophy decider and it is expected to be a nervy, tense affair so backing a low-scoring game with under 3.5 goals would seem sensible.
