Celtic have not lost against the Rangers this season till now. And with their 3-2 win over the Ibrox club at Parkhead, they might have pretty much decided the fate of the Premiership title, going twelve points clear with just seven league games to go. There are still important Glasgow derbies to be played this season though.
The next one will be the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park. It is safe to say that a lot is riding on the result for both teams. For the Hoops, a potential treble is still up for grabs.
Last season, they did end up losing the Scottish Cup semis against the Rangers. Thus, Ange Postecoglou’s team will surely want to rectify that when the two teams meet in the same fixture in this campaign as well.
James Tavernier seems to be very confident ahead of the game, despite not getting a win over Celtic this season till now. As reported by the Daily Record, the Rangers captain is convinced the tables can be turned, as he said:
"“It was disappointing to come away with nothing. We wanted to come away with three points.“We’ve obviously got an important game against them in three weeks’ time, so if we take the positives out of this game and apply ourselves in the same way – with a bit more – then I’m really confident in the team.“The game in three weeks time is obviously massive and we’ve got to make sure we get in the final. We have to move on. We have to finish the season as strong as possible.”"
Tavernier may regret latest Celtic comments soon
It remains to be seen how the next Glasgow Derby plays out. The latest one at Parkhead was certainly the closest that we have seen in a while.
At the same time though, one has to remember that Celtic were nowhere near their best on the day. A key player in Reo Hatate was not available through injury. While some of those who played have been dealing with fitness issues as well. If the Hoops can improve in this aspect by the time the Scottish Cup semi-final comes around, then they are expected to put in a better performance at Hampden Park than the latest one at Parkhead.
Of course, they cannot make the mistake of taking the Rangers lightly. They have lost only two games since the appointment of Michael Beale. Both against Celtic.