‘Blimey’ – Chris Sutton thinks one Rangers excuse is absolutely guaranteed to be ‘wheeled out’ if Celtic beat them

Add as preferred source on Google

The Glasgow derby is just one day away and Chris Sutton has been providing his predictions ahead of the clash at Celtic Park.

Celtic host Rangers on Sunday in the Premiership and even though no derby is meaningless, it has the the feel of a dead rubber occasion.

The Hoops are streaks ahead of Rangers in every department on and off the pitch as they currently hold a 16-point lead at the top of the league.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	CelticCeltic	29	24	3	2	87	17	70	75
2	RangersRangers	29	18	5	6	59	26	33	59
3	HibernianHibernian	29	11	10	8	44	40	4	43
4	AberdeenAberdeen	29	12	6	11	38	46	-8	42

It’s an unassailable advantage and regardless of the outcome come the end of Sunday afternoon, Celtic will go on to secure a fourth successive Premiership crown.

Sutton is ‘sad’ there isn’t really anything riding on the derby, perhaps except for Brendan Rodgers‘ burning desire to avenge what happened in January.

Celtic lost 3-0 at Ibrox and Rangers were deserved winners on the day. But they failed to make it mean anything worthwhile as far as a title race is concerned.

• READ MORE: Chris Sutton tempted to see ‘sensational’ Celtic star play out wide vs Rangers, fans will likely disagree

Chris Sutton on potential Rangers ‘tiredness’ excuse

Rangers come into the clash off the back of an energy-sapping penalty shootout victory over Fenerbahce in the Europa League on Thursday.

They lost 2-0 on the night but the game went to extra-time with the scoreline locked at 3-3 on aggregate – Rangers then won 3-2 on spot-kicks.

120 plus minutes of football for them 72 hours before a Glasgow derby maybe isn’t ideal, but Sutton is having absolutely none of it.

And he thinks if Celtic were to win on Sunday, that will be the first excuse to be delivered after the game. Speaking on The Warm-Up, Sutton replied to host Gordon Duncan: “No, come on. You’re not going to say they’re going to be tired?

“Pound to a penny, if Rangers lose, they’ll be wheeling that old one out. ‘Oh we were tired, took so much out of us on Thursday night’.

Asked if the adrenaline boost before a derby game should lift the players, Sutton replied: “Well I would think so. I mean, blimey, if you’re not motivated for a Celtic Rangers game then…”

Kris Boyd says Rangers ‘tired’ excuse isn’t valid vs Celtic

Gordon Duncan’s co-host Steven Naismith pressed the pair on what extra-time and penalties could mean for Rangers at Parkhead this weekend.

Kris Boyd was alongside Sutton and agreed with is Sky Sports co-pundit. He said: “See if Rangers rock up to Celtic Park on Sunday and they’re really struggling 5 or 10 minutes in, there will be players looking for excuses, ‘oh I’m tired’.

“But if you go and start the game well, it’s out the window. What difference does it make?

“Yes, it’s an Old Firm game and you’re playing against the best team in the country, but Rangers have been doing Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday for weeks now.

“And they had no game at the weekend. If you look at the two teams last night (Thursday night), both of them looked absolutely shattered!”