The first piece of silverware is up for grabs this afternoon as Celtic take on Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup Final.
Brendan Rodgers‘ side were unable to win the competition last season having lost out in the early rounds in what was a surprising defeat to Kilmarnock.
It was a result which cost the Hoops what might have been another Treble as they skooshed the Scottish Premiership and then beat their rivals, Rangers, in the Scottish Cup Final at the final Hampden showpiece of the campaign.
This term, though, the optimism is there with Celts in fine form both domestically and in the Champions League and today’s cup final in Glasgow should be an entertaining fixture.
Our very own writer, Paddy Sinat, was asked onto BBC Sportsound to preview the action and discuss potential Rodgers personnel decisions ahead of the game.
And this is what he said in discussion with reporter Kenny MacIntyre when asked about Celtic’s chances of lifting the trophy.
KM: Confident?
PS: Pretty confident. The team are a good place, playing well, playing some good football, scoring plenty of goals and, and not conceding many. So I I’m feeling pretty confident about tomorrow but not too confident.
KM: Who would you like to see start?
PS: Well, that’s, that’s a big question for Celtic fans for tomorrow, isn’t it? You’ve got, obviously Callum McGregor is going to start. The big question is whether Engels or Bernardo or maybe even Hatate. Personally, I’d like to see Hatate start with McGregor and Bernardo and have Engels on the bench.
I just think Bernardo is probably in a better headspace. He’s playing a bit better football. I think Engels, obviously his form has dipped slightly, but again, he’s only 21. I think just turned 22 so he’s still a young lad and still trying to get settled into the team, so it’s a good option to have off the bench as well.
67HailHail’s own Paddy Sinat was invited onto BBC Sportsound to discuss Celtic vs Rangers
He’s a good attacking player. But I think my midfield three would be McGregor, Hatate and Bernardo.
KM: McCowan unlucky not to get more minutes?
PS: It’s a shame he’s cup tied tomorrow, isn’t it? He’d have been a good option off the bench. He’s probably been the surprise package of the summer signings.
KM: Does it mean more to you as a Celtic fan to see a guy like that coming through?
PS: It’s great to see something like that because you can see how much it means to him. I mean, you saw the Sky Sports footage coming out of the stadium, the tunnel, I think it was 10 minutes to midnight and you just saw his face like he was, he was just overawed by the whole occasion.
He’s never looked as if he’s letting the jersey weigh him down, he took it in his stride and he’s scored some important goals for us. And he’s actually actually turned a couple of games at the start of the season as well, which has been great to see.
So I think for Celtic fans, they love seeing something like that or someone like that coming into the team, clearly a lifelong Celtic supporter and doing well. So it’s good to see.
Pat Nevin: Here’s a difficult question. Since Dortmund, what has been the most important game?
PS: To be honest, I think the Atalanta game, getting that draw away in the Champions League was probably one that kind of gave the team belief that they could do it on the continent as well as domestically. I think from then that obviously sparked is to go ahead and beat Leipzig as well and then get a decent draw against Club Brugge.
I think for me, that was probably one of the games – I wouldn’t say it’s a turning point – but certainly it was a result that gave us belief that not only could we still dominate domestically, but they could progress in Europe.
Paddy’s prediction for Celtic vs Rangers in Premier Sports Cup Final
KM: Could there be argument that Dortmund loss was turning point?
PS: I mean, you could be onto something there Kenny I think, I mean, Brendan Rodgers has always said that he’s never going to tweak his style or kind of change how he approaches games, he always wants to go and win.
But maybe that’s given him a bit of food for thought to maybe make small changes to how he approaches these games. I think that’s a fair point that could be argued, yep.
KM: Just a minute left with yourself Paddy, two quickies. A score prediction and are you concerned at all about the slight upturn in fortunes at Rangers in recent weeks?
PS: You can never be too cold in the head in these games, to be honest. If you look at the history of finals and semi finals between Celtic and Rangers, they have predominantly been a goal between the teams who have won it.
I think tomorrow is going to be the same. I think there will goals, I think it will be a 2-1 win for Celtic.
KM: I was telling the guys to watch the beautiful skill from Kyogo vs Hibs…
PS: That was special.
KM: Best goal you’ve seen in the flesh? Susie McCabe, a Celtic fan and comedian, said Henrik Larsson’s goal against Rangers…
PS: You can’t argue with that one, Kenny. That goal, for me, tops them all. I don’t think anything will top that to be honest.
I think what will be key is who can come off the bench for Celtic tomorrow.
KM: Are you going to the game tomorrow, Paddy?
PS: No, I’ll be covering it for 67HailHail.
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