Celtic’s upcoming Betfred Cup semi-final against Hibs could reportedly take place on a Saturday evening. The Scottish Sun is reporting that talks took place between the clubs, the police, BT Sport and the SPFL on Thursday.
The outcome of the talks is that Celtic will reportedly play Hibs after 5 o’clock on Saturday, November the 2nd, with Rangers set to take on Hearts the following afternoon in the other semi-final.
An unexpected kick-off time
Playing after 5 pm on a Saturday is a bit of an odd kick-off time. However, it looks like circumstances have dictated that the Hoops will play in the first semi-final.
It is interesting to note that the semi-finals have been scheduled for a week that does not see the teams play European football.
That makes sense after last season. At one stage both semi-finals were going to take place on the semi day at Hampden, only hours apart.
Teams will be in action midweek ahead of semi-final
The teams will be in action in the midweek before the semi-final though, with the Hoops set to face St Mirren at home on Wednesday the 30th of October.
Celtic and Hibs played each other at the same stage of the competition only two seasons ago. The Hoops won that game 4-2. That game kicked off at the lunchtime on the Saturday. There must be reasons why a similar kick-off time cannot be used for this season’s meeting between the teams.
Celtic have a chance to put down a marker ahead of the semi-final when they travel to Easter Road on league duty on Saturday. The Hoops will be hoping that is the first of two wins over Hibs in the next five weeks.
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