Celtic v Rangers Betting Tips

Saturday brings us the first Premiership Old Firm derby since Celtic won 3-0 at Celtic Park four years ago. However, these two rivals met back in April with Rangers coming out on top on penalties in the Scottish Cup semi-final.

If you want to watch a proper old school derby this weekend, do not watch the borefest that will be happening in Manchester thanks to the Mourinho-shaped bus which will be parked in front of United’s goal, instead watch this Old Firm derby which I guarantee will be more entertaining.

Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic side are top of the Scottish Premiership with a 100% record after three matches and with a game in hand over city rivals Rangers. They have been able to blitz opposition this season with their excellent forward line, however, defence is a concern for the hoops having conceded four goals already and they are yet to keep a clean sheet in the Premiership his season.

This is Rodger’s first Old Firm derby, however, this is not his first derby experience by any means and he was undefeated in Merseyside derbies during his time at Liverpool.

Celtic fans do not want to hear this but secretly they are glad that Rangers are back in the top flight of Scottish football. The return of the Gers means that there is finally a bit of tension back in Scotland and every fan loves a derby – especially Celtic fans.

Rangers have started their campaign relatively well with two wins and two draws, putting them second. With Celtic having a game in hand thanks to European commitments, Rangers need to make sure they pick up maximum points from their next few fixtures in order to keep the pressure on their Old Firm rivals.

Like Celtic, goal-scoring has not been the problem for Mark Warburton’s side as they have netted in every league game, however, like Celtic, they have failed to keep a clean sheet in the Premiership so far this season.

In terms of betting on this match cards are the obvious way to go. Of course with it being an Old Firm game the odds on cards have been drastically shortened. However, there is still value to be found out there.

Everybody is talking about Brown vs Barton – the battle of the two hard man midfielders from either side. They have already been jibing at each other off the pitch this season and it will surely play out when the enter the field of play.

You can get high value odds on a red card with either player but I would go for Brown. Barton has somewhat relaxed in recent years and seems to be able to control his anger whereas Brown seems to let it get on top of him in Old Firm games especially. The odds on a Brown red card are 18/1.

However, a more guaranteed winner is Scott Brown to pick up a yellow card which, even at odds of 11/10, is a very worthwhile bet.

Staying with cards, if you are certain there will be a red card but not sure who for then Bet 365 offer 2/1 on a red card in the match.

The final card bet I would go for is using Skybets booking points system. Sky assign points for each card issued with 10 for a yellow and 25 for a red with two yellows converted to a red scoring 35.

The Old Firm match is undoubtedly a hard fought contest and I would certainly advise going for going over the 85 point mark here. A likely sending off and a good few yellows will see this points score hit with ease and the odds on this are very appealing at 13/8.

Finally onto more footballing bets. Celtic are undoubtedly the favourites here and the poor value on the market shows this. However, as previously mentioned, both teams are good going forward and decidedly poor at the back so I would definitely involve both teams to score. With home advantage as well as having the better team on paper you have to back Celtic here. The Celtic win and Both Teams to Score is 23/10.

Having made the move north from Aston Villa, Scott Sinclair has made an excellent start to his Hoops career, scoring in all three of his league games so far. With the odds down on Leigh Griffiths scoring anytime I would certainly back the former Swansea man instead at 2/1.

See all of tips here.