Old Firm preview: No trouble in Paradise

This weekend is set to be the biggest so far in the Scottish Premiership title race, as Rangers head to “Paradise” Parkhead in pursuit of three points to keep their title hopes alive.

After 35 games the Glasgow rivals are separated by just three points with Celtic atop the table and leading on goal difference.

There will still be another two games to play after Saturday’s clash, but it will still go a long way to deciding this year’s champions, especially if the Bhoys were to extend their lead to six points.

We preview the Old Firm below.

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Celtic with one hand on title

Not too long ago Celtic fans may have believed the title to have slipped away completely, but now their side are well and truly in the driving seat as the 1/6 favourites for the title.

The Bhoys are unbeaten in three Old Firm clashes this season, winning two and drawing the latest edition, with the last game at Celtic Park seeing Brendan Rodgers’ side run out 2-1 winners.

The Hoops have lost just once since December 16th when they fell to Hearts, with their only league loss since coming against the same opponents. It is no wonder that they are so short for the title given their ability to go such long periods without dropping points, coupled with their abundance of title-winning experience.

Celtic Park is no easy place to go and as such a home win looks likeliest at 17/20. Celtic have scored five goals across the two derbies this season via five different scorers. Adam Idah scored what looked to be a late winner at Ibrox before Rangers levelled the scores in injury time, and the Irishman is Celtic’s best chance of a goal here at 5/4. Should the trend of different scorers continue, South Korean forward Oh Hyeon-gyu is 11/8 to find the back of the net.

Gers have it all to do

There was a point just weeks ago when Rangers looked almost unstoppable as they topped the Scottish Premiership and became odds-on favourites for the title. Now they find themselves trailing their bitter rivals by three points, with worse goal difference and are 7/2 outsiders to win the league.

Without an Old Firm win to their name this season and having picked up just eight points from their last five league games, Philippe Clement’s side head into this season-defining fixture as 13/5 underdogs.

Right-back and captain James Tavernier has had some season, netting 20 times and providing 10 assists so far, making him Rangers’ leading scorer and provider. At 29/10 he is just third in the market to net for Rangers, with Cyriel Dessers the 9/4 favourite having bagged 15 times in 43 games this season.

Rabbi Matondo was the late-levelling hero in the last Old Firm as he salvaged a point in the third minute of injury time. The Welshman is averaging a goal every other game this season and is 9/1 to have the last laugh by netting the final goal of the game on Saturday afternoon.