Scottish League Cup Final Tips: The Bhoys To Romp To Victory
Celtic have been the dominant team in Scottish football this season and are already 11 points clear of rivals Rangers in the league.
The two Glasgow rivals meet for the second time this term in the Scottish League Cup final as the Gers look to defend their title.
The Hoops have won six of the last eight editions of this competition, however, and have a big advantage from the recent head-to-heads.
Team news
Tom Lawrence, Rabbi Matondo and Oscar Cortes are all likely to miss out for Rangers through injury. Neraysho Kasanwirjo will also be absent.
Celtic will be without Odin Thiago Holm and are waiting to see if Canadian international Alistair Johnston, who was withdrawn early against Dinamo Zagreb in midweek after picking up a knock, will be fit.
Tip 1 - Celtic to win and over 2.5 goals @ 31/20
Celtic did the Premiership and Scottish Cup double last season but will be looking to recapture the Scottish League Cup from rivals Rangers, who beat Aberdeen 1-0 in last year’s final.
The Hoops have been almost immaculate this season, losing just one of their 25 games in all competitions. That was a 7-1 defeat at the hands of Dortmund in the Champions League but domestically their opponents have struggled to lay a glove on them.
Celtic have conceded just seven goals in 19 league and cup games and won 3-0 when they faced Rangers earlier this season.
Brendan Rodgers’ men were 6-0 winners over Aberdeen in the semi-final and they look a cut above every other team in Scotland.
The improvement of the likes of Nicolas Kuhn and Daizen Maeda means that this team looks stronger than they did last term despite losing Matt O’Riley to Brighton.
They will also benefit from two extra days to prepare for this game as they faced Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday, while Rangers hosted Tottenham on Thursday.
The Bhoys have won five of the last six meetings and there has been a gulf in class in their respective performance levels this term.
Four of the last five head-to-heads have gone over 2.5 goals so take Brendan Rodgers’ men to come out on top in an entertaining affair.
Tip 2 - Kyogo Furuhashi to score at anytime @ 31/20
Kyogo Furuhashi has struggled to live up to his 27-goal season under former boss Ange Postecoglou but he remains Celtic’s primary attacking weapon and often saves his best for these derby clashes.
The Japanese striker has scored eight times against Rangers in 911 minutes – an average of a goal every 114 minutes.
Rodgers tends to prefer Furuhashi to Adam Idah up front in big games, often opting to use the former Norwich man as an impact sub.
He is likely to use that strategy once more in this game and Furuhashi is worth siding with to reward his manager’s faith with a goal.
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