Rangers and Celtic clash in not just an Old Firm derby but a potential Scottish Premiership title decider at Ibrox at midday on Sunday. There is one further Old Firm battle to come, after the league split, but with only one point separating the Glasgow sides at the top of the table, Sunday’s contest could be pivotal in the race for the championship. We have Rangers v Celtic Betting Tips for bragging rights on Glasgow.
Rangers can move back to the top
Celtic hold a one point advantage on Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premiership table and the Bhoys will be hoping to extend their lead to four after they visit Ibrox on Sunday. The Gers have a game in hand on their Old Firm rivals and a victory for the Light Blues would put Philippe Clement’s men in a commanding position.
It’s been a remarkable turnaround for Rangers, who looked out of the title race before Mick Beale was dismissed as manager earlier in the season and Clement has lost just three of his 33 games in charge of the Ibrox side.
The Gers were beaten by Benfica in the Europa League and they took their eye off the ball when losing to Motherwell prior to the first-leg of their tie with the Portuguese side. A 2-1 defeat to Celtic at Parkhead is the only other loss on Clement’s Rangers record and the Light Blues were arguably the better side in all three of those defeats.
Rangers have won 11 of their last 12 Premiership matches at Ibrox, scoring 33 goals and conceding just eight times and they also produced a series of excellent home displays in Europe. Celtic have found their goalscoring groove, hitting the net 20 times in their last six matches, but they were beaten 2-0 at Hearts last month and Brendan Rodgers’ men have lost eight matches in all competitions this term.
Rodgers has struggled to find the right balance since returning to the East End of Glasgow and it’s a concern that the Bhoys have failed to win five of their last 12 away matches. Rangers will have a fanatic Ibrox crowd in support on Sunday and they should move back to the top of the Scottish Premiership with a victory over their Old Firm rivals.
Light Blues can run rings around Hoops defence
Rodgers hasn’t been able to plug Celtic’s leaky defence and the Hoops’ rearguard is likely to be exposed again at Ibrox. The Bhoys have kept only two clean sheets in their last 10 matches and Celtic conceded 15 goals in their six Champions League group-stage matches.
Rangers are the closest that Celtic are going to get to Champions League-standard opposition domestically and it would be no surprise if the Hoops’ defence came up short again. Rodgers is likely to field a back-four of Alistair Johnston, Greg Taylor, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales at Ibrox and Taylor and Scales in particular look extremely vulnerable to a stacked Rangers attack. It could pay to side with Rangers to score over 2.5 goals and surge back to the top of the Premiership table.
Dessers can dish out punishment
Cyriel Dessers is likely to lead the line for Rangers at Ibrox and the 29-year-old looks good value to find the net.
The former Cremonese forward has hit 13 goals in 20 league starts this term and he has also struck nine times in his last 16 games.
Dessers should get plenty of joy up against Scales and Carter-Vickers in the centre of Celtic’s defence and it would be no surprise to see his name on the scoresheet come Sunday.
Rangers v Celtic tips
Rangers to win @ 2.1
Rangers to score over 2.5 goals @ 3.6
Cyriel Dessers to score at any time @ 2.65
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