Prediction: Rangers vs Celtic

Prediction: Celtic win

Best Odds: 21/10

Bookmaker: bet365

The Scottish Premiership returns this weekend, and it does so with one of the most fearsome fixtures in world football: the Old Firm derby. Rangers and Celtic will go to war once again, with the hope of gaining a psychological edge over their bitter rivals as the push for the title continues. Throughout the course of history, these two teams had met a whopping 417 times, with Rangers leading the overall head to head standings 161-157 – and if this turns out to be a draw, it will be the 100th draw between the two clubs.

Rangers

Under the guidance of Steven Gerrard, Rangers look like a club reborn. While they still aren’t quite positioned as the clear top team in Scottish football, they’ve taken the right sort of steps towards being dubbed just that once more. With their place in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League having been secured, the focus can now turn back towards the league as they try and end the reign of dominance that we’ve seen in the last decade or so from their rivals down the road.

Team News

Ojo is set to lead the way after putting in a strong performance against Legia Warsaw in the Europa League, with Morelos being tipped as the main man to lead Rangers forward in the derby.

Celtic

After easing their way into the group stage of the UEFA Europa League, Celtic look as confident as they have been in a long time. They’ve done well to bounce back from the disappointment of being knocked out of the Champions League by Cluj, and now, it’s all about taking control of the title race. They’ve got the experience and they’ve got the quality necessary to cause Rangers some real damage this weekend, but one thing that they cannot afford to be is complacent.

Team News

Jozo Simunovic is facing a race to be fit after missing the game against AIK due to a knee issue, but aside from that, the champions should have a fairly clean bill of health heading into Ibrox.

Factors to Consider

• In their last meeting back in May, Rangers beat Celtic 2-0.
• Rangers have won five and drawn one of their last six games.
• Celtic have won four, drawn one and lost one of their last six games.
• Rangers have scored 14 goals and conceded two in their last six games.
• Celtic have scored 17 goals and conceded nine in their last six games.

Conclusion

The occasion of the Old Firm derby often renders any and all forms of analysis pointless. With that being said, we’re going to go with the champions Celtic picking up the three points. They will be the fresher of the two teams after coming through their Europa League playoff round tie a bit easier than Rangers did, and we just generally believe they’ve got more than enough quality within their ranks to get the job done. Either way, this is going to be one of the most physical games you’ll see all year long.

Prediction: Celtic win

Best Odds: 21/10

Bookmaker: bet365