Celtic and the Rangers will play it out for the first trophy of the season when they take on each other in the Scottish League Cup final this weekend. Considering the string of results in Glasgow Derbies over the past three years or so, one has to consider the Hoops as heavy favourites going into the Hampden Park meeting.
Of course, nothing can be taken for granted in games like these. Form and past results often go out of the window as Glasgow derbies prove to be one-off fixtures.
Philippe Clement has talked about the financial gap between the two clubs heading into the game though. Recently, Celtic announced a £13.4 million profit while the Rangers posted a £17.2 million loss.
As reported by BBC, Rodgers was asked about Clement's suggestion that the Rangers were underdogs given the relative finances of the two sides. The Celtic boss replied:
"This is a club that's been organically grown.
"We haven't been handed money. This is something that's been grown. That has allowed us to win and, when you win, that brings more success.
"For us, that is all I'm interested in. The club is in a brilliant position, but it's all been earned."
Celtic boss takes dig at Philippe Clement's claim before final
The thing is, Celtic have been the most successful club in Scotland by far for more than a decade now. It is no surprise that they are getting financial returns as a result of it.
On the other hand, one could argue that the Rangers' lack of success has not had a significant enough impact on their finances. They comfortably have the second-highest revenue in Scottish football.
It remains to be seen how the Scottish League Cup final plays out. The Hoops cannot afford take anything for granted even if they enter Hampden Park as the favourites.
Nothing is for certain on occasions like this. So, Celtic will need to take their A-game to Hampden Park and then hope for the best. Their midweek performance against Dinamo Zagreb will not fill the fans with confidence but this promises to be a completely different game.