This Sunday, when the Scottish Cup semifinals take place at Hampden Park, Rangers and Celtic will square off once more.
The League Cup final between the two Old Firm foes took place earlier this year, with the Bhoys winning and taking home the trophy. With a 13-point lead over the competition and victories in two of the first three encounters, and draws in the other, Ange Postecoglou’s team has dominated the rivalry this year.
They have a fantastic opportunity to win the triple if they win at Hampden Park after winning the League Cup and getting closer to winning the Scottish Premier League. Rangers, who prevailed in this tournament last year, are the one team that doesn’t want that to happen, and they’ll be out to defend their crown.
Whichever side wins this weekend will compete against Falkirk or Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the championship game. On Sunday, April 30, the Scottish Cup semifinal game will be played at Hampden Park at 13:30.
Rangers vs Celtic: Team news
The return of Ryan Kent and Connor Goldson, who were both out for the Rangers’ loss to Aberdeen, will encourage them in the upcoming game. Ridvan Yilmaz and Antonio Colak may join the team in addition to Leon King and Alex Lowry, who are also expected to return.
Steven Davis, Tom Lawrence, Kemar Roofe, Ryan Jack, and Filip Helander are all expected to continue missing playing time due to ongoing injuries. Reo Hatate, Liel Abada, and important player Jota for Celtic are all questionable for the semi-final due to recent absences also due to injury.
All three, though, are expected to return to practice this week and might play again, but James Forrest is unlikely to recover in time.
What’s the situation at the clubs?
Following his team’s run to the semifinals, Celtic manager Postecoglou was questioned about the possibility of achieving the triple this year.
“There isn’t someone here who doesn’t have a stake in the outcome,” he remarked. “There is constantly a lot of chatter and fuss. Our responsibility is to maintain extreme discipline and pay attention to what matters. The young players have accepted that and they are aware that if you take your eyes off the prize, you will fail.
We never see past our current obstacle. The only way we can accomplish our goals is by maintaining this frame of mind. There is always a chance that we won’t [keep winning] if we aren’t focused, disciplined, and work hard every day.
It’s okay for me to say that, but we see it out there on the pitch,” Postecoglou added. “You see the finished result, but I see it every day from the entire team. They encourage one another to strive for excellence. As a result, our results have been excellent and are becoming better. Every week, we appear to be a stronger and better squad than we were at the beginning of the year.”
