Celtic will be aiming to rectify their mistake from last season, as they get ready to take on the Rangers in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup at Hampden Park this weekend. With the League Cup already won and the Premiership looking like only a matter of time, the Hoops have their eyes on a treble. On the other hand, Michael Beale’s side will know that this is their last chance at winning some silverware this season and to stop their Glasgow rivals.
Celtic have not lost a Glasgow Derby in the ongoing campaign till now. And hopefully, that will remain the case.
Celtic cannot afford to take the Rangers lightly though. The last Glasgow Derby at Parkhead was a bit too close for comfort for many. It was clearly not the Hoops’ best performance. The good news is that they still found a way to win on the day. And with Jota, Reo Hatate and Liel Abada closing in on fitness, hopefully they will be stronger this weekend and bring their A-game.
A lot has been made of the comments coming out of the Ibrox camp before derby games this season. And yet, it looks like they continue to repeat their mistakes.
Rangers players repeat mistake before facing Celtic
As reported by The Scotsman, Nicolas Raskin told Sky Sports:
"“We need to win something for the season and it is our last chance. And also we want to win against them.“We’ve now lost two games (against Celtic) since I came. I think the last game was close. We are not too far from them. I’m sure we can do something in the semi-final, I’m sure if we play our best we can do something good. We have to go there with a strong mentality and go for it.”"
Those comments sound pretty similar to the ones that John Lundstram had made before the previous Glasgow Derby. And yet, the Rangers did go on to lose that game.
At the end of the day, there is nothing wrong about being confident about your own chances. In fact, that is important for any top team in sport. But to publicly talk about that just adds pressure onto yourself and your teammates to deliver on the big day. And we have seen this Rangers team struggle to deliver under the spotlight on numerous occasions in the past.