Rangers and Celtic will clash in the second Old Firm derby of the season later today, with the result set to play a big part in the Scottish Premiership title race.
Since the return of football following the World Cup break, both Rangers and Celtic have won four from four heading into the showdown in the first domestic league outing of 2023. The last meeting between the two came in September, with Ange Postecoglou's side beating their rivals 4-0 at Celtic Park in a thumping win over then boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side.
With the gap currently nine points between leaders Celtic and Rangers in second place, the result between the two sides could play a massive role in deciding who wins the title this term. A win for Celtic would extend the gap to 12 points, whilst a win for Michael Beale's side would close the gap to six, giving Rangers a major boost ahead of the second half of the campaign.
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So, who will emerge victorious in this huge Old Firm derby clash? We simulated the game to try and find out.
Rangers vs Celtic simulated
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the Rangers and Celtic squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that the Gers could set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Davies, Barisic; Lundstram, Jack; Sakala, Tillman, Kent; Morelos.
We predict that the Hoops could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Hart; Juranovic, Starfelt, Carter-Vickers, Taylor; Hatate, McGregor, Mooy; Maeda, Furuhashi, Jota.
The first half saw chances limited for both sides, with Jota coming the closest for Celtic with a curling effort from outside the box, but Allan McGregor was able to tip the effort wide of the post. As the second half began, Celtic were the team on top, and the Hoops took the lead after 56 minutes through Kyogo Furuhashi.
Reo Hatate dispossessed John Lundstam on the halfway line before surging forward with possession, and under no pressure, the midfielder grasped at the opportunity to break into the box. Suddenly, Hatate found himself one-on-one, and as McGregor rushed off his line, the midfielder squared the ball to Furuhashi who fired into an empty net.
It was the first major chance in the opening hour, but with a goal having been scored, the game was blown wide open, with Rangers looking to level the score whilst Celtic tried to catch their rivals on the break. Ryan Kent came close when his powerful strike at the near post was saved by the chest of Joe Hart, but the 'keeper was at fault as Rangers equalised in the 78th minute.
Kent did well to beat Josip Juranovic down the left, flicking the ball through the legs of the defender to break towards the box. Kent threaded a pass through to Alfredo Morelos at the near post who fired his shot straight at Hart, but the ball crept through the arms of the 'keeper, trickling over the line to make it 1-1.
Callum McGregor had a glorious opportunity to win the game for the visitors in the 93rd minute when the ball was pulled back to the midfielder just inside the box, but despite being unmarked, the Celtic captain sent his effort wide of the goal, and the full-time whistle went.
FIFA 23 predicted score: Rangers 1-1 Celtic
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that Rangers and Celtic could produce an evenly-matched game, with the derby ending in a 1-1 draw. Celtic missed a big chance to secure a win at the end of the simulated game, potentially showing how the game could be determined by the smallest of margins on Tuesday.
What do you think the score will be between Rangers and Celtic on Tuesday? Let us know in the comments!
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