da betcris： There’s nothing in football quite like when the green and white hoops of Celtic face-off against the light blue shirts of Rangers. That’s true whenever they meet but never more so than this Sunday when they go head-to-head in a massive Scottish Cup semi-final that will go a long way towards deciding who has the bragging rights between two sets of supporters throughout the summer ahead.
da betway： Celtic are unbeaten in domestic competition this season and go into the match-up as hot favourites, despite only drawing with Rangers in the last meeting between two sides.
In fact, almost all of the matches between the two this season have been close and while the 5-1 thrashing of Rangers lives long in the memory of everyone, it is in fact the anomaly in recent history of the fixture.
Brendan Rodgers and his side can have no complacency about this one and we’re sure they’ll treat Rangers with more respect than most sides they’ve come up against season.
How do they ensure they live up to the favourites tag and get the win?
This is how we see the Hoops getting the job done…
The Big Selection Calls: Forrest & Sviatchenko out, Roberts & Boyata in
It’s vitally important Brendan Rodgers gets his team selection spot on this Sunday and while the majority of the starting XI almost picks itself, for us the big calls revolve around four players.
James Forrest has had a consistent enough season but we reckon switching in Patrick Roberts in his place is the way to go at Hampden. The wide open expanse of the national stadium suits the tricky Roberts, who will fancy his chances of exposing the inexperienced Myles Beerman at left-back. Beerman has performed admirably for the Light Blues since coming into the team and may even cope well against the pace of Forrest. However, up against the skilful Englishman, that lack of experience could be exposed. Roberts has actually made more direct goal contributions to Celtic this season than Forrest despite playing way less and the scene is set for him to put in one of the last big performances for the Hoops before heading back to Manchester City.
Erik Sviatchenko has been shaky in the Hoops backline for a while now and again against Ross County last weekend didn’t look at his best. His distribution was below par and he was caught underneath the ball to allow County to equalise the first time. Dedryck Boyata has been mostly solid since returning to a regular appearance for Celtic and alongside Jozo Simunovic should have enough about him to shut out the Gers.
The Threat: Kenny Miller
Kenny Miller has been a thorn in Celtic’s side for decades and loves scoring in this fixture, even netting for Celtic against Rangers once upon a time.
He’s the big threat that Rangers hold in front of goal this Sunday. Recently against Aberdeen at Pittodrie we saw again that if given a sniff, he’ll take a chance, especially when the pressure is on and the eyes of Scotland is on the fixture. He loves to turn it on, on the big occasion and if Brendan Rodgers can build a game plan to ensure he is snuffed out across the 90 minutes, Rangers don’t have many other options that they can comfortably rely on to find the net.
Martyn Waghorn has been inconsistent, scoring mostly from penalties. Joe Garner has not lived up to his price tag last summer. Even Barrie McKay has been off the boil for months now.
Miller is the one man you feel can get something against this Celtic side and the Hoops must be very aware of that or risk having to score a few to get the result they so desperately want.
The Key: Tom Rogic
Missing for the last two derbies between the two sides, Tom Rogic is again fit and available for selection this Sunday. Getting a starting spot is not guaranteed with the likes of Callum McGregor in good form and Brendan Rodgers perhaps preferring a more defensive minded midfield but we reckon, if given the opportunity, Rogic can be a man to actually be the key to the entire Celtic performance.
Without Rogic, as good as they are, Celtic can at times look a little one dimensional with the ball more than likely being fed through the left hand side and Scott Sinclair. Teams have found if they can isolate the English winger that they can effectively shut down the Hoops attack.
With Rogic, they have another quality option and not on either wing but through the middle. He has the skill and poise to find space between the midfield and defence in the central areas and provide passes that would unlock the best defences around, never mind Rangers’ inexperienced and ropey set-up.
He may not last the full 90 minutes but if they can get him on the ball in the first hour of the game, Tom Rogic can punish Rangers. He scored in last season’s semi-final after all and even got on the scoresheet the last time Celtic played at Hampden, in the Scottish League Cup Final against Aberdeen.
The Big Battle: Brown vs Hyndman
Sunday’s game is going to be won and lost in the midfield areas and set to go head-to-head there are Emerson Hyndman and Scott Brown. Hyndman has been a key figure for the Light Blues since joining on loan from Bournemouth in January.
Along with Jon Toral, he’s made the central midfield area perhaps the strongest area of the pitch for the Gers across a 90 minutes. He’s powerful, skilful and knows when to commit himself forward into the final third.
Scott Brown will be massively important in countering that. The Celtic and Scotland captain is having one of the best seasons of his career and if he can be the midfield spoiler that ensures the Rangers midfield doesn’t get a foothold in the game then Celtic will win.
Of all the tussles across the pitch on Sunday, this may be the most important.