Celtic v Rangers: Rivals evenly matched in first Old Firm derby of the season

Celtic v Rangers
Saturday, 12:30
Live on Sky Sports

Scottish football is flying

Round six of the Scottish Premiership season begins in Glasgow at 12:30 with the return of the Old Firm Derby. Celtic enjoy a slender points advantage over their neighbours at this stage and could be five points clear by the end of play if they can maintain their 100% record.

Victory for Giovanni van Bronkhorst's Rangers side would send them racing back into pole position, drawing first blood in what's expected to be a fearsome battle for the Scottish Premiership trophy. The Gers are unbeaten after five games but were recently held to a 2-2 draw by Hibs, finishing the match with nine men.

Celtic and Rangers are flying at the minute with the famous Glasgow clubs in UEFA Champions League action. The Hoops share a group with Real Madrid, while Rangers are in with Liverpool. The excitement of a return to European football's biggest stage must be put on ice until midweek, but which side will boost team morale with an Old Firm win?

Champions in frightening form

Celtic are top of the league after five games, with Ange Postecoglou's men boasting a 100% record. Last season's champions have 15 points on the board, scoring 21 goals and conceding just one. It has been a while since the club started a campaign quite as impressively as this, with confidence coursing through the club, from the players and coaches to the fans.

The Bhoys delivered a statement of intent ahead of the first Old Firm Derby of the season when hammering Dundee United last weekend. It was a game Celtic were favourites to win, but even the most enthusiastic of Ange supporters wouldn't have predicted the jaw-dropping 9-0 that was achieved at Tannadice.

There were hattricks for Kyogo Furuhashi and teammate Liel Abada on a day that will live long in the memory of Celts fans. Furuhashi is a huge player for Celtic and he would dearly love to fire the goal that sinks Rangers on Saturday.

Gers fire back early

Rangers dropped their first points of the season away to Hibs in Edinburgh on matchday four when conceding a late equaliser after having two players sent off. The Gers moved into a 2-1 lead when summer signing Tom Lawrence found the net just before the hour mark, but Gers then had John Lundstrum and Alfredo Morelos sent off. That allowed the Hibees to nick a leveller in injury time near the end of play.

It was a bitter pill to swallow, especially after Lundstrum's red card was overturned in an appeal, but the club regrouped and returned to winning ways. Since drawing with Hibs, we have seen Rangers beat PSV 1-0 away from home to qualify for the Champions League before downing Ross County 4-0 at Ibrox on Saturday.

Star striker Antonio Colak hit a brace and was unlucky to miss out on the hattrick against the Staggies. Those goals took his tally to seven in seven games for his new employers. He's fast becoming a fans' favourite in Govan and will be targeting goals on his derby debut.

Tight match expected

These sides met five times last season, and there was no more than one goal between the pair on four occasions. The spare was a 3-0 win for Celtic at this venue in van Bronkhorst's first Old Firm as manager, although he played his part in a few as a Rangers player. Each of the last two derbies finished level at 1-1 after 90 minutes, following a 2-1 win for Celtic at Ibrox.

At this early stage of the season, with both teams having one eye on their opening game of the Champions League group stage, we could see a slightly more reserved match than we're used to. The draw can be backed at around 3.929/10 on the Betfair Exchange, and that's our approach. Celtic are 1.9310/11 with an away win for Rangers at 4.3100/30. The latter was difficult to overlook as it's such great value.

Both teams have scored in each of the last three renewals of this fixture, with 2-1 being the final score in two of those three. Both teams to find the net again is 1.728/11, and that's likely to attract attention, as is the game producing over 2.5 goals at 1.774/5.

For those expecting plenty of goals but also tempted to play a score draw, the 2-2 can be backed at 16.015/1, 3-3 is a chunky 75.074/1 chance!