Old Firm Derby: Glasgow Rangers vs. Celtic Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Old Firm Derby is the first big game of the season, with both Glasgow Rangers and Celtic coming into it with just one ambition – WIN. Even though the Scottish Premier League is probably solved with Rangers having a massive advantage, the Old Firm Derby is always a life or death situation, disregarding all the other factors. The tension and the rivalry between these two hated enemies are unbelievable, and for most of the average soccer fans, impossible to understand. The differences surrounding this derby are bigger than usual, making it one of the best in the world.

Preview

Glasgow Rangers (+105) are the leaders with 16 points more than Celtics, who does have three games fewer than its biggest rivals. That makes this match even more important because it is the Hoops’ last opportunity to save their title prospects.

The Gers have 21 games in the league without a loss. When looking at the entire campaign, including all the matches, Steven Gerrard’s boys suffered a defeat in only one contest.

They are ruthless at Ibrox, posting all 10 victories with a goal difference of 32-1, demolishing every opponent that visited the legendary stadium. It seems that Gerrard’s hard work that saw him building a team over the past two seasons has finally paid off.

Celtic (+230) had a terrible period during Late October and November, losing the number of games they haven’t done in the past several seasons combined. It not only hurt their morale, but also boosted Rangers’ seeing their enemies struggling.

However, in the past six games, the Hoops bounced back, recording all wins, keeping their net intact in four of those encounters. The latest three Premiership events saw them beating the opponents with a combined goal difference of 8-0.

After almost a decade of ruling Scottish football, Celtic is on the downhill, and we can say without any hesitation that they have one of the weakest teams in a long time. Apparently, their dominance has come to an end.

Latest News

Nikola Katic, Ryan Jack, and Scott Arfield are all out due to various injuries.

Meanwhile, James Forrest is not available due to an ankle injury, while Hatem Abd Elhamed is still not cleared.

Head to Head Games

The Gers had more success in the previous 320 games, winning 123, while Celtic has 110 victories with 87 events ending after a draw.

The latest two saw the Rangers winning, but Celtic was better in the previous event at Ibrox. By the way, five in recent seven ended with under 2.5 goals and without both teams to score.

Prediction

The hosts are massive favorites, and to be honest, they are a better team right now. We saw them routinely beat Celtic in the first matchup of the year, 0-2, without any trouble while doing so. The difference not only in quality but in discipline, mental preparations, and motivation as well, is heavily on the Gers’ side.

Therefore, our pick is Rangers to win, with the odds at +105 right now. However, they are going down as we speak, so better hurry to maximize the profits.