Scottish Football / John Girvan / 08 May 2009 / Leave a comment

The managers might be playing it down but Saturday's Old Firm clash will have great signficance for the title race, writes John Girvan.

Walter Smith believes Saturday's Old Firm clash is not a title decider and guess what? Gordon Strachan agrees with him. Smith believes saying as much shows "disregard" for the rest of the sides who make up the top six whilst his Parkhead counterpart at least concedes, "it has relevance" but at the same time puts it on a par with other fixtures stating "every game is a turning point".

So both gaffers, publicly at least, are playing it down. A win either way could bear a huge significance however and more so an away victory as that would put Celtic ([1.64] to retain the title) four points clear with three games to play, two of which are home ties.

Celtic won here in December of course and back to back away wins aren't too uncommon for the hoops who last achieved the feat just five years ago. Rangers barely got going five months ago however and Celtic go into this one without both injured captain Stephen McManus and the suspended PFA Player of the Year Scott Brown.

Darren O'Dea is also out so it appears likely that Glenn Loovens will partner Gary Caldwell in central defence. Crosas and Hartley were the central midfield pairing at Aberdeen last week but the performance has put doubt as to whether this duo will continue to support wide men McGeady and Nakamura.

Barry Robson returned to training this week so, despite a lengthy lay-off; don't rule him out of adding some steel to the midfield. Up front Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink is back among the goals with four in the last five and should partner top scorer McDonald who has four in the last six.

Rangers ([2.54] for the title) also have two strikers in form and that's where the biggest headache lies for manager Walter Smith. The word on the street is that a partnership of Kris Boyd and Andrius Velicka lacks pace and despite the pair scoring four goals each in the sides last five outings there is the feeling there is no chance Smith will start with both up front.

Both Kenny Miller and Kyle Lafferty are fit again and they are joined in the queue for a starting place by talisman Nacho Novo. All three have the pace that Rangers perhaps require for this tie and the most likely scenario is that Velicka makes way for either Miller or Lafferty. Most season ticket holders would opt for the Ulsterman but Smith is a long-term admirer of the Scot.

Fans favourite Madjid Bougherra returns after serving a ban but the match comes too soon for injured full-backs Sasa Papac and Kirk Broadfoot. Barry Ferguson made a surprise return to training this week but isn't fully match fit and neither is Lee McCulloch.

Rangers ([2.44] in the Match Odds) are closer to full strength than Celtic [3.2] and with two away games on the horizon it's a game they simply have to go out and win. Home advantage should tell here and a wise option is perhaps to back Rangers -0 & -0.5 in the Asian Handicap where a home win is payed out at [2.04] with the security of half your stake back for a draw.

Where 90 minutes betting is concerned the last two meetings have ended goalless so I doubt many will be keen to back 0-0 at [11.0] in the Correct Score Market but stranger things have happened. With so many in-form strikers on display goals could be the order of the day so back Over 2.5 goals at [2.12].

Last weeks results have made things interesting in the bottom half where Falkirk have lengthened from [1.32] to [1.51] in the Rock Bottom 2008/09 Market.

The Bairns win at Motherwell and an Inverness win at St Mirren has really tightened things up in the relegation betting. Caley remain second bottom but are out from [4.6] to [5.6] and that means St Mirren are the biggest movers in this market

Killie also had a significant slip and the loss at Hamilton has seen them drop from [13.0] to just [5.6] whilst Accies, despite winning, have come in slightly from [12.5] to [10.0].

With the Old Firm grabbing all the attention on Saturday Setanta Sports are screening Inverness v Hamilton on Sunday. The approach for both sides could be greatly affected by events at Rugby Park on Saturday where a win for Falkirk would tighten the relegation belt another notch.

Inverness will have identified this as a game that could go a long way to securing their future in the top flight. They have worked hard, were as low as [1.64] to go down at one point themselves before turning it around remember, and they will want to see this one through after all the effort they have put in.

Terry Butcher's men needed a late equaliser in the side's last meeting here just three weeks ago but two previous home wins suggest they can make up for this. Back Inverness in the Match Odds at [2.18].