Scottish Football / Total Goals Guys / 26 April 2008 /

After they jammed their foot into a chink of light by winning two weeks ago at Ibrox, can Celtic push the door to the SPL title wide open? We've enlisted half of the Total Goals Guys, John Girvan, to fill you in on round 2.

And so we meet again . . .

Rangers travel to Celtic Park on Sunday for the 2nd time in 12 days. The match is live on Setanta Sports 1 and is scheduled for a 12:30pm kick-off. It certainly "kicked-off" last time around via a post match game of handbags and with so much at stake this time around another feisty encounter is a certainty.

For Rangers this match is sandwiched between both legs of their UEFA Cup Semi-Final with Fiorentina. Celtic on the other hand have enjoyed the luxury of seven days rest following the 1-0 home victory over Aberdeen last Saturday. The win took Celtic two points clear at the top of the SPL, the first time the club have found themselves in this position in 2008, although Rangers do have three games in hand.

At present the league winners market sees current trailers Rangers priced at [1.32] with leaders Celtic out at [4.0]. A home victory on Sunday would change these prices drastically; after all, Celtic will play only one of their remaining three fixtures away from home whilst Rangers face four away ties as they attempt to close-in on the championship. The Gers have dropped points in six of their 14 away games this season so there is enough to suggest there could yet be a twist in the tale.

Celtic rest their remaining title hopes on this match and they are all too aware they face a Rangers side who are fast becoming victims of their own success. Allan McGregor, Lee McCulloch, Charlie Adam, Chris Burke and Steven Naismith are all out through injury whilst Kevin Thomson and the all important Carlos Cuellar miss out through suspension. Barry Ferguson returns however and the combination of being rested for last weekends Scottish Cup Semi-Final and serving a Fiorentina 1st Leg suspension will ensure that tiredness is not an issue for this one.

The list of absentees looks extensive but it can be argued that Rangers have an ample replacement between the sticks in Neil Alexander, whilst Burke, Naismith and possibly even Adam may not have featured in this one anyway. The aerial presence of McCulloch will be missed however and the loss of Carlos Cuellar could prove a decisive blow. The Spanish rock will almost certainly be replaced by Christian Dailly, who depite having a poor game in midfield against Fiorentina on Thursday night will be much more suited to a more familiar central defensive role.

For Celtic, Scott Brown returns to the squad after serving a three match suspension and his manager, Gordon Strachan, will have some decisions to make on the midfield set-up. Barry Robson has enjoyed a positive start to his career at Celtic Park but with key man Aiden McGeady on fine form it's difficult to accommodate him on the left. On the contrary, Massimo Donati is way out of form and it looks like any three from Robson, Nakamura, Hartley and Brown will saddle up for 90 minutes alongside the leagues Players Player of the Year.

Celtic left it late last Wednesday with Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink scoring three and a half minutes into the five minutes added on for stoppages. It was agonising for Rangers, who knew, going into both of these fixtures, that avoiding defeat in just one of these contests was virtually enough to ensure an easy passage to the title and for a side so solid at the back it looked a big ask for Celtic going into last weeks match. The manner of Celtic's triumph however has given them a massive shot in the arm and they are determined to push Rangers all the way if the Ibrox men are to relieve their bitter rivals of the title "champions".

From a betting perspective it difficult to see Rangers winning this match and the [3.85] for an away win is just about right given not only the visitors run of fixtures but also injuries and suspensions. A Celtic win at [2.18] would take the current sequence of home wins in this fixture to five whilst only the third draw in 23 Old Firm match-up's currently trades at [3.25].

With a Rangers win looking unlikely, Celtic -0 on the Asian Handicap offers decent value at around [1.6] but in terms of goals it really is difficult to predict. The 1st strike is vital in such encounters with the side who notched the first goal going on to lose the game only once in the last 22 meetings. Celtic would really have to go for it if Rangers were to nick the opener but with a total of 13 goals in the last six league ties the value lies with Under 2.5 goals at [1.77].

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