Celtic might be enjoying a great campaign, but form and momentum will go out of the window this weekend. They are set to take on the Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park. The Hoops have their eyes on a treble but if they are to achieve that goal, they will need to get past Michael Beale’s side. They had lost in the same fixture in the previous season.
Celtic drew 1-1 at the weekend against Motherwell. On the other hand, the Rangers lost against Aberdeen. So, neither team is coming into this game on the back of a win, which makes things even more interesting.
It is worth pointing out that Celtic have not lost against the Rangers in the ongoing campaign till now. They have won thrice and drawn one. Hopefully, they will take their A-game to Hampden Park this time around.
They have been handed a fitness boost heading into the game. It looks like Jota, Reo Hatate and Liel Abada will be all part of the squad this weekend. On the other hand, the Rangers have injury problems to deal with.
Celtic must ignore Beale’s latest comments before Glasgow Derby
As reported by The Scottish Sun, Beale said:
"“Goldson, Wright, Kent and Lowry all trained.“We just need to see how they react now and assess after returning today to training.”"
Thus, it looks like there are doubts whether those players will feature against Celtic or not at the weekend. The Hoops must ignore the latest comments from Beale though.
We all know how many mind games go on before the Glasgow Derby. And thus, it would not be a surprise if those players are fit enough to feature on the day. Yes, they might actually miss out, but that is not something Celtic should be thinking about ahead of a game of this magnitude.
Celtic must prepare to take on the best version of the Rangers at Hampden Park. If anything less shows up, that would be a bonus.