It is hard to pick a favourite between Celtic and the Rangers heading into the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park. The Hoops have gotten the better of their Glasgow rivals the last two times that they have met, winning 3-0 at Parkhead back in February and then 2-1 at Ibrox earlier this month. But then, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side will be riding a high as well, having booked their place in the Europa League semi-finals in midweek with a win over SC Braga.
One has to give the slight advantage to Celtic though as Ange Postecoglou’s side have been the better team all three times that the two have faced each other this season. On top of that, the Rangers will be coming into this game having played 120 minutes of football against SC Braga.
Kris Boyd appears to believe that tiredness could play a huge factor in their Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic. Of course, he could very possibly be playing down the chances of his former side as well.
Boyd wrote in his column in The Scottish Sun:
The lack of trust the manager clearly has in some players has certainly hindered them on the home front.
Playing guys who are running on empty has not helped Rangers’ cause domestically.
And if he asks too many of the Braga heroes to go to the well against Celtic on Sunday, there will only be one outcome.
There were a lot of tired legs after 120 minutes of European action at Ibrox on Thursday.
Do Celtic have an advantage against the Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final?
Celtic had the midweek off, as they had been knocked out of Europe by Bodo/Glimt earlier on in the season. And as a result, one would expect Postecoglou’s side to be fresher of the two teams on Sunday.
But at the same time, it is not rare for teams like Celtic and the Rangers to be playing twice in a week. In fact, it is rarer that they don’t. Thus, it ultimately should not have a huge impact on Van Bronckhorst’s side.
Even if Celtic do have an advantage, it is only a slight one. But on the other hand, they have a huge worry as well though, as Giorgos Giakoumakis is not going to be available for the game.
The Greek striker has played a huge part in the previous two Glasgow Derby wins and it will be very interesting to see how the Hoops deal with the Rangers without him.
This article was originally posted here