Alan Hutton believes Rangers have the edge heading into Sunday’s Glasgow Derby, but only if they manage to show up.
With the title race already over and Celtic confirmed as champions, attention now turns to bragging rights in the final Glasgow Derby showdown of the season at Ibrox.
Despite Rangers trailing their rivals in the league and struggling for consistency, Hutton thinks they can raise their game for this one.
Speaking ahead of the clash, the former Ibrox defender said:
“It really depends which Rangers team turns up,” Alan Hutton told Boyle Sports who offer the latest derby odds. “From week to week you really don’t know what’s going to happen. I feel that when they are playing a big game like Celtic or in the Europa League, they can raise the bar and that’s the one plus side.
“Celtic have already won the league. That’s done and dusted, so how are they going to be feeling going into this game? Of course they won’t want to be beaten, but I think Rangers really have something to prove and in the last couple they’ve done really well.
“I feel maybe that gives Rangers the slight advantage even though they’ve not been playing at the highest level. So I feel at home they can get a victory and can get something because they need to please the fans. It’s not been a good season at all but I feel they’ve got enough to raise a level for the game Sunday.
“There’s definitely going to be goals because Rangers have been conceding goals for fun, I’ll go 3-2 to Rangers in an exciting game.”
There’s no such thing as a dead rubber when it comes to Glasgow Derbies, but the hype surrounding this one is near non-existent.
Celtic needs to win the derby. They’ve only won one in 90 minutes this season, and that came back in September. Since then, they’ve had to beat Rangers on penalties and suffer back-to-back defeats.
Heading into this game, Rodgers needs to change something in his setup. He’s been outplayed in the last three derbies and that can’t go on.
After the St Johnstone defeat, he made it clear that he wasn’t allowing his team to coast to the title, and now that that’s been won, he will still demand the same from his players, especially heading into a derby.
