⚽️THE OLD FIRM
CELTIC vs RANGERS is combustible stuff. Plus: Liverpool-Newcastle and Juventus-Roma.
The most wonderful time of the football year continues, even if some domestic leagues are on winter break. The Premier League is going strong, of course, and Juventus host Roma in a notable Serie A encounter. But the headliner is the Old Firm derby, Celtic vs Rangers. It’s Scotland’s biggest match, and one of the more combustible fixtures in world football…..
SATURDAY
CELTIC vs RANGERS (7:30am ET, 12:30pm GMT)
I can only begin with this caption from a Getty Images entry captured in 1909: “A replay of the game between the finalists in the competition for the Scottish Cup, Glasgow Celtic and Glasgow Rangers. For the second time, there was a draw. The crowd desired that there should be an extra half hour's play, but having been refused this wish, they rioted.” Supporters reportedly burned “the pay boxes” of “Queen’s Park at Hampden.” That was the first stadium. The fortress there now is Celtic Park, Glasgow, a ground Sir Alex Ferguson named—alongside Anfield—the most ferocious in Europe. Known as Parkhead (or Paradise), this is the home of Scotland’s biggest team. Except for its other biggest team.
Rangers hail from six miles across town, but these two are a world apart. They’ve long been vessels for ancient blood feuds and wars for power and privilege, with religion and ethnicity as uniforms. Celtic is the city’s Catholic club. Rangers is for the Protestants. Or at least that’s how it went for many years, as this rivalry became a proxy conflict for all kinds of British sectarian issues, chiefly the question of Northern Ireland. There’s even the immigration beef here: Celtic are traditionally seen as Irish-Scots, and Rangers as the natives. It’s all made for one of the most combustible fixtures in world football, up there with Boca Juniors-River Plate in Buenos Aires and—as we highlighted last week—the Intercontinental in Istanbul.
The sporting side of the rivalry took shape in the first decade of the 20th century, and the hope should be that this is the side of the beef that endures. It’s been a rough decade for Rangers since the club went into administration in 2012 amid some disastrous financial mismanagement, though the club stormed back from Scotland’s third division to the first by 2016 and won a 55th league title in 2021. Their great rivals have 53, including every other crown since The Gers hit the skids. Celtic’s strength has continued this season as they top the Scottish Premiership after 20 matches, though Rangers are five points back with two games in hand.
Everybody else is (as usual) off the pace. These are the two players in the Scottish league, which operates in an unusual two-phase format for a domestic competition. James Tavernier—older brother of Bournemouth’s Marcus—will captain Rangers on enemy soil. He leads the way this season with nine goals and five assists, while Senegalese forward Abdallah Sima has nine and two. Celtic offer a triple threat with Kyogo Furuhashi, Matt O'Riley, and David Turnbull all near the top of the charts this season, and they’re the favorites at this formidable venue. This is a true derby match, however. The Hoops marched to another title last May, but not before Rangers hit them 3-0. That was at Ibrox, in fairness. At Celtic Park, it was 3-2 to the home team.
LUTON TOWN vs CHELSEA (7:30am ET, 12:30pm GMT)
In case you’re passing on the Old Firm, there’s another intriguing match in this early window. Chelsea cobbled together a win at home to Crystal Palace in midweek, but they’ve rarely looked sure-footed this season. A trip to Kenilworth Road has been a challenge for far better teams than the Blues. Just last week, Newcastle were cut down here, and Mauricio Pochettino’s young side will have to deal with the directness and physicality of Luton if they’re to string a bit of league form together.
WOLVES vs EVERTON (10am ET, 3pm GMT)
Wolverhampton Wanderers put Brentford to the sword in midweek thanks to some egregious defensive errors and some clinical finishing from Hwang Hee-chan, who has 10 goals in 19 Premier League appearances this season. Check out his touch for the third. Mario Lemina is playing some great football from central midfield, and electric winger Pedro Neto is on his way back from injury. They host Everton, who gave Man City a battle on Wednesday but ultimately came up short. Dwight McNeil is cooking for Everton after getting slagged off on the Match Report! podcast, while Jack Harrison is supplying his typical end product at Premier League level.
FOREST vs MAN UNITED (12:30pm ET, 5:30pm GMT)
It’s a new era at Man United, and not just with the new ownership. They won a game against a Top Six opponent, too, with Erik ten Hag’s side showing some pride and resilience to come back from 2-0 down against Villa. Granted, it was at home, and time will tell if it was merely a temporary reprieve for the manager. Nottingham Forest sacked Steve Cooper a couple weeks back and finally got themselves a W under Nuno Espirito Santo last time out against Newcastle. Chris Wood returned to St. James’ Park and punished his former employers with a hat trick, and now Forest will look to regain their formerly formidable form at the City Ground.
JUVENTUS vs ROMA (2:45pm ET, 7:45pm GMT)
The hosts are cruising near the top of Serie A, though nobody is quite matching Inter’s level at the moment. Juve are second, unbeaten in 12 matches without scoring too many goals. They’re playing the kind of calcio often associated with Jose Mourinho, whose Roma side is hanging around the European places without offering much consistent form. Paulo Dybala remains out for the capital side, but Romelu Lukaku is playing like a man with something to prove this season.
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SUNDAY
TOTTENHAM vs BOURNEMOUTH (9am ET, 2pm GMT)
The visitors are top of the Premier League form table at the moment with six wins from their last seven. They haven’t lost since a trip to Man City on November 6. Dominic Solanke is starring up front with Justin Kluivert and Marcus Tavenier, and they’ll be asking questions of a Spurs defense that’s missing Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven. The centerback partnership of Emerson Royal and Ben Davies did not inspire confidence in the 4-2 Thursday beating from Brighton that could have been far worse. The injury bug has decimated a shallow Spurs squad, and at some point manager Ange Postecoglu may have to get flexible with his famed philosophy. One thing he seems inflexible on is that Eric Dier will not play, even if it means playing two fullbacks at centerback.
MONDAY
LIVERPOOL vs NEWCASTLE (3pm ET, 8pm GMT)
It’s tough times for the Magpies, who’ve lost four of their last five in the Premier League. They’ve also won just one match away from home across all competitions, drawing two and losing six. Not a great time to go to Anfield, then, particularly with Liverpool kicking into the kind of form that should see them mount a legitimate title challenge this season. Newcastle still have some quality players, though, and they’re starting to get some key ones back from injury. Look for them to sit in and soak up the big pressure from the Reds before they try to strike on the counter with their athleticism.
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THE FPL STOCK MARKET
↗️Diogo Jota (£7.7m): While Mo Salah (£13.3) has been the no-brainer pick this season, for cheaper exposure to the Liverpool attack, go for the Portuguese who just returned from injury with a goal.
↗️Alfie Daughty (£4.4m) has been at the heart of the good things Luton Town is doing going forward.
↗️ TFW listed Hwang Hee-Chan (£5.7m) as a buy at the beginning of the month, and he still looks like one.
↘️All Newcastle defenders, including fantasy stalwart Kieran Trippier (£6.9m), are probably a sell. The Magpies are in poor form heading into a deathly run of fixtures: Liverpool, Man City, Aston Villa.
↗️Martin Ødegaard (£8.4m) was among Arsenal’s only decent performers against West Ham, and Arsenal have Fulham, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest to come. Leandro Trossard (£6.5m) could see some extra minutes over this festive period and is a reliable goal-and-assist man in this league.⚽︎