Celtic v Rangers Betting Pick 1 – Sunday 29 April 2012

Celtic
Celtic supporters © GEPA pictures

Celtic v Rangers

The final Glasgow derby of the season between Celtic and Rangers takes place on Sunday at Celtic Park and despite the league already been won, it will be as passionate as ever.

Celtic have achieved their sole objective for the season by regaining the SPL title after going four years without it. Of course, the cup competitions have proven to be a little disappointing after a loss to Kilmarnock in the League Cup final, coupled with a last minute defeat against Hearts in the semi final of the Scottish Cup. Some would argue that it’s a missed opportunity in terms of landing a domestic treble but if you were to offer the campaign to the management, players and support at the start of the season, then they would have bitten your hand off. The League is, rightly, viewed as the most important and anything else is a bonus. Last Sunday’s win over Motherwell was a return to winning ways after the semi-final defeat and it was a dream come true for debutant Tony Watt who was on the field for less than ten minutes before notching his first goals for the Celtic first team. Having clinched the league in advance of the final few games, it provided an opportunity for manager Neil Lennon to field some players who haven’t been featuring of late.

Rangers have been dealt a further blow this week with the news that the SFA have banned them from buying players for 12 months. In a season they will want to forget, it’s another crushing blow considering the Administrators have yet to find a new buyer for the club and any prospective buyers will have to consider their position further because of the transfer embargo. On the field they are enjoying a spell of good form with four straight wins in the SPL. Their latest victory was an impressive 3-0 win away to Hearts last Saturday in which Sone Aluko was at the forefront of everything going forward. As the winger is on a short term deal until the end of the season, it could be that the Rangers support have four more games to enjoy his abilities. Sunday’s derby against Celtic will provide another opportunity for Ally McCoist to get the better of his counterpart Neil Lennon with the head to head in the Rangers manager’s favour of 2-1.

Lennon is likely to take the fixture seriously and resort to playing his strongest eleven after experimenting last Sunday. It should mean a return for the likes of Fraser Forster, Georgios Samaras and Adam Matthews. Scott Brown is struggling with an injury and could miss out meaning Victor Wanyama would move into midfield from defence.

Rangers, as has been documented, don’t have a lot of options so the same players who played last Saturday are likely to start again. More worryingly for the club is the fact that several of these players are out of contract in the summer and with this embargo in place, will be unable to re-sign them, or replace them.

Celtic could have clinched the title at Ibrox last month but never turned up that day and Rangers ran out 3-2 winners. At home, and with the backing of their support, I believe they will have far too much for the visitors.

My Selection: Celtic to beat Rangers

Best odds available: 5/6 available with BetVictor