Prediction for Celtic vs Rangers: Bhoys look best placed to edge first Old Firm clash of the season

Check out our 13/5 Celtic vs Ranegrs predictions below

Five Old Firm games last season produced two wins for Celtic, one for Rangers and two draws - a set of results that suggest there is a far more balanced rivalry between the biggest teams in Scottish football than has often been the case in recent years.

However, with home advantage and on the back of a 9-0 drubbing of Dundee United last weekend, it's Celtic that are firm favourites to edge the season's first big showdown. The Bhoys are a shade of odds-on at 7/8 with Betway, while Rangers are 3/1 to end a winless run of four matches at Parkhead (three league, one FA Cup).

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It's the last chance for these sides to flex their muscles before they go into European combat. Celtic have a huge game against Real Madrid on Tuesday while Rangers head to Amsterdam to play Ajax 24 hours later. It's an exciting time for both sets of fans but it's also a period that could impact domestic performances.

The reigning champions are a perfect 5-5 in the league so far, scoring 21 goals in the process and conceding just once - at Ross County. Confidence will be sky-high in the Bhoys camp after last weekend's annihilation of Dundee United, in which Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Abada both scored hat-tricks.

Rangers have been much busier thanks to their Champions League qualification exploits but those early-season efforts mean that they are now on an even financial footing with their Glasgow rivals.

Barring a 2-2 at Hibs, Gio van Bronckhorst's side have taken maximum points but they needed two late goals to trun things around at Livingston and they didn't do anywhere near enough to take all three points during their 2-2 draw at HIbs.