Sunday sees Celtic and Rangers face off in the Scottish League Cup final at Hampden Park.
Top social media tipster Andy Robson has dived into the markets in search of some derby value picks, and he’s got a brilliant Bet Builder for us. So, let’s get his Celtic v Rangers betting tips.
Celtic to win
Both teams to score: Yes
6+ match cards
Celtic to win the most corners
Nicolas Raskin to be shown a card
WHEN: Sunday, 15th December, 3:30pm
WHERE: Hampden Park, Glasgow
TV: Premier Sports
Celtic to win
Rangers might be resurgent, but Celtic are definitely favourites ahead of Sunday’s League Cup final.
The Hoops are undefeated in their last 14 matches across all competitions, winning 10 of these, while they are also the dominant force in this rivalry at present. Celtic have won each of the last 3 plus 5 of the last 6 games the big Glasgow clubs have played.
Rangers do come into this game off the back of a 9-game undefeated run, but Philippe Clement’s side put a huge amount into their midweek fixture against Tottenham and have had two days less to recover than their opponents. That may just be decisive in what promises to be a high-octane clash.
Both teams to score: Yes
Celtic might have kept 4 successive clean sheets, but don’t expect this game to follow the patterns of what’s gone on around it.
Rangers are looking more powerful offensively than at any other point this season, and after being shutout in a 3-0 loss at Celtic Park in September will strongly fancy their chances of finding the net in this game. This would continue a run of 11-straight games in which they have tallied.
The Hoops scoring should be taken almost as a given. They’ve only been shutout twice this season, with both those occasions in the Champions League.
6+ match cards
Old Firm matches are typically competitive affairs, but throw in the fact that Rangers stand a genuine chance of causing an upset, the nature of cup finals and a referee who loves to get his cards out, and this has the potential of being a powder keg of a fixture.
John Beaton will oversee the game, having already shown 9 cards when the sides met previously this season.
Beaton also averages 5.55 cards per match this season across 20 fixtures and has shown at least 7 cards in 8 of these games. With this in mind, this price represents very interesting value.
Celtic to win the most corners
Celtic are a team that typically win substantially more corners than Rangers. Over the course of the Premiership season, Brendan Rodgers’ side have picked up a massive 9.8 per match on average compared to Rangers’ 6.4. Equally, the Hoops give away fewer corners than their Glasgow rivals: 2.67 to 4.2 in the league.
This played out when the sides met back in August as the Celts won 7 corners to Rangers’ 4 in the only previous meeting between the clubs this season. Expect a similar story at Hampden on Sunday.
Nicolas Raskin to be shown a card
The Belgian is right back in favour with Rangers boss Philippe Clement and surely played himself into the starting XI with a quite excellent display against Tottenham on Thursday.
The tenacity and energy of the 23-year-old will be crucial for Rangers to get a foothold in this match, yet he is also likely to flirt with a booking for much of the encounter. He will fly into tackles and try to establish an edge with his physicality.
Raskin has already been booked five times in the Premiership – once every 161 minutes he has played – and in this match he will be encouraged to play on the edge. With a referee who loves to show a card and who booked him against Aberdeen in October, expect him to attract the attention of the man in the middle once more.
Celtic v Rangers Bet Builder tips
Celtic to win
Both teams to score: Yes
6+ match cards
Celtic to win the most corners
Nicolas Raskin to be shown a card
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
READ MORE
The latest football odds are on PaddyPower.com now
THE PADDY POWER GUIDE TO SAFER GAMBLING – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
