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Celtic logo
Scottish Premiership | Gameweek 2
May 1, 2022 at 12pm UK
Celtic Park
Rangers logo

Celtic
1 - 1
Rangers

Jota (21')
Ralston (50'), Bitton (72'), Giakoumakis (77')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Sakala (67')
Barisic (64'), Kent (77'), Diallo (87'), Goldson (90+2')

Preview: Celtic vs. Rangers - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Scottish Premiership clash between Celtic and Rangers, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Celtic head into the next instalment of their rivalry with Rangers holding a six-point advantage over their Old Firm foes in the Scottish Premiership standings.

The home side are also well rested after watching their opponents compete in the Europa League on Thursday night, giving them the edge ahead of potentially making the decisive step towards reclaiming the top-flight crown.


Match preview

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou pictured on April 17, 2022© Reuters

With an unbeaten record in the Scottish Premiership since September, Ange Postecoglou would have naturally been expecting his Celtic side to defeat Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-finals earlier this month.

However, the 2-1 comeback win for the Gers has taken the shine off Celtic's campaign, the Hoops instead left to wrap up proceedings in the top flight as soon as possible.

Given Rangers' success last season, everyone associated with Celtic will be thoroughly delighted should they reclaim that prize, but it cannot be regarded as a foregone conclusion just yet.

Defeat on Sunday would see Celtic's lead cut to three points with three games remaining, although that will not be the mentality of a team who blew their arch rivals away when they last met at Celtic Park on February 2.

Celtic were far from their best in disposing of Ross County last weekend, Kyogo Furuhashi and Jota getting on the scoresheet at opposite ends of the contest.

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst celebrates after the match on April 17, 2022© Reuters

As far as Rangers are concerned, this fixture is being staged at a less-than-ideal time given their desire to reach the final of the Europa League.

Missing several important attack-minded players, Rangers lined up defensively against RB Leizpig in Germany on Thursday night, being denied a deserved goalless draw by Angelino's strike five minutes from time.

Nevertheless, Giovanni van Bronckhorst will take the positives from the commitment and character shown against the Bundesliga side, something which will need to be repeated at the weekend.

The Dutchman is now left with the dilemma of giving everything in Sunday's fixture and having the second leg versus Leipzig in mind, but that will not be used as an excuse if they fall short in either contest.

Fashion Sakala will likely be trusted with the main responsibility in the final third, even though he has not found the back of the net since March 13.

Celtic Scottish Premiership form:
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W

Celtic form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • W

Rangers Scottish Premiership form:
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • W

Rangers form (all competitions):
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L



Team News

Rangers' Kemar Roofe celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates on April 14, 2022© Reuters

Despite the win at Ross County, Postecoglou will consider making changes to his Celtic XI for this contest.

Having all made substitute appearances last weekend, Tom Rogic, David Turnbull and Giorgos Giakoumakis are in contention for recalls.

Matt O'Riley appears most likely to drop out of midfield, but Josip Juranovic is sidelined and Postecoglou will be wary of taking any risks on Nir Bitton.

Aaron Ramsey and Kemar Roofe are again expected to miss out for Rangers with hamstring and knee issues respectively, keeping Alfredo Morelos company on the sidelines.

Van Bronckhorst will likely revert back to a defensive four, although Leon Balogun will miss out due to the red card that he picked up against Ross County.

Sakala should return down the middle of the attack with Scott Wright in line to drop down to the substitutes' bench.

Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; Ralston, Carter-Vickers, Starfelt, Taylor; Rogic, McGregor, Hatate; Jota, Furuhashi, Maeda

Rangers possible starting lineup:
McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Bassey, Barisic; Jack, Lundstram, Kamara; Kent, Sakala, Aribo


SM words green background

We say: Celtic 2-0 Rangers

There is a strong argument that everything is in Celtic's favour ahead of this contest, Rangers requiring a performance of the ages to realistically remain in the title race. However, we feel that it could be one-way traffic, Celtic netting a goal in either half to effectively clinch the title.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Celtic win with a probability of 56.58%. A draw had a probability of 22.8% and a win for Rangers had a probability of 20.62%.

The most likely scoreline for a Celtic win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.71%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.88%) and 2-0 (9.8%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.81%), while for a Rangers win it was 0-1 (5.92%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 10.8% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Celtic vs Rangers

Celtic
76.3%
Draw
15.8%
Rangers
7.9%
76
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Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi celebrates scoring their first goal with Jota on October 19, 2021
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Celtic1110103132831
2Aberdeen11101024101431
3RangersRangers11713168822
4Dundee UnitedDundee Utd125431813519
5Motherwell116141514119
6St Mirren134361722-515
7Dundee123361824-612
8Kilmarnock123361525-1012
9Ross County132651021-1112
10St Johnstone133191627-1110
11Hearts132381420-69
12Hibernian121561118-78


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