Celtic v Rangers Prediction, Preview & Odds – The Old Firm

on April 5, 2023 at 12:47 pm

We have a Celtic v Rangers prediction and preview plus betting odds for you ahead of Saturday’s Old Firm in the SPL at Celtic Park.

Game Details

Matchup: Celtic v Rangers

Venue: Celtic Park, Glasgow

When? 12.30pm, Saturday, April 8th

What Channel? Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Football

Celtic v Rangers Odds

Celtic come into this Old Firm derby as our odds makers’ fancy to go home with all three points. The Hoops are a strong odds-on price of 8/13 in the betting to win this Saturday afternoon against their fierce rivals.

Rangers on the other hand go into this game as significant underdogs at odds of 15/4 in the betting to win the match.

The draw is set at a healthy looking price of 14/5 which looks appealing considering how well these teams know each other and how little there usually is between the sides when they match up.

The Form – Celtic v Rangers

Celtic’s Form

Celtic are the form team in Scotland right now and what a run of form it has been for the team. They are now on a 20-game unbeaten run in all competitions and haven’t suffered a loss in all of 2023.

This incredible run of form has seen The Hoops lift a Scottish League Cup and all but secure the Scottish Premier League title with three games still to go.

Celtic have won each of their last five games by at least two goals with a scoring differential of +13 over that period. This team has just been a class apart from the rest of their rivals in Scotland this year as they look superior to their opposition in every game they play.

Rangers’ Form

Rangers are on a five game unbeaten run now and have only lost one of their last 23 matches. That loss came at the hands of their Old Firm rivals Celtic in the Scottish League Cup final in late February.

That Old Firm League Cup Final was a closely fought affair but it was the green side of Glasgow that would get the 2-1 win in the end that day. Rangers are in the position of being miles ahead of the rest of Scottish football bar Cetlic, evidenced by the gap in the SPL of 31 points between themselves and Hearts in third place.

Unfortunately for The Gers they have been a couple steps behind Celtic this season with nine points separating the sides in the table heading into this latest Old Firm.

Celtic v Rangers Preview

Celtic’s Attack

The last time these two teams went head-to-head was in the Scottish League Cup final when Japan’s Kyogo Furuhashi got the two all important goals to secure an Old Firm victory and League Cup title for Celtic.

The Bhoys have been irresistible in attack in recent times with 16 goals scored in their last five games played. That mark averages out to a staggering 3.2 goals per game which shows you how clinical Celtic have been in both creating chances and converting those chances into goals.

Celtic have also been imperious at home this season with a perfect record of 15 wins from 15 games played.

Rangers’ Defence

This Rangers team have had a pretty mean defence of late having only conceded a total of four goals over the last five games they’ve played. That rate of less than a goal a game suggests that this team is defensively solid although they haven’t come up against this Celtic attack in that period.

The last time they did face Celtic’s attack they shipped two goals and will be hoping to have made the adjustments needed to keep The Bhoys at bay this weekend. With that said, Celtic did only create 1.49xG in that Scottish League Cup final against The Gers so they can feel that their defensive tactics might be on the right track for this matchup.

Rangers’ Attack

Rangers have been just as prolific over their last five games in all competitions as Celtic. They have hit the back of the net on 16 occasions in that spell to average over 3 goals scored per game.

In their last two matches against Celtic the blue side of Glasgow have scored three times which suggests they are both creating and converting chances in these Old Firm games. In the Scottish League Cup final Rangers created 1.4xG and in the most recent SPL Old Firm they created 1.66xG which was more than Celtic on the day as The Gers were denied a win by a late Kyogo Furuhashi goal.

Celtic’s Defence

The Hoops have the meanest defence in the Scottish Premier League this season with only 21 goals conceded which is only 0.7 per game. They have been in good defensive form of late with just three goals conceded from their last five outings.

The worry for Celtic is that despite having the best defence in the SPL and Scotland, they have conceded to Rangers in the last two Old Firms as The Gers found the back of the net three times in those games.

The concession of goals in recent Old Firms would be the primary concern going into this game but apart from that it is hard to pick much fault in this Celtic defence.