Celtic don’t play in the Scottish Premiership until Sunday but there’s quality viewing ahead for fans on Saturday with a high-profile slot for this afternoon’s Women’s Scottish Cup semi-final derby clash.
Celtic FC Women take on bitter rivals Rangers at Hampden for a place in next month’s final as the club look to do the ‘double-double’ – a league and cup triumph for both the men’s and women’s sides for the first time in Scottish football history.
Elena Sadiku has done a fantastic job of steadying the Celtic ship since the departure of Fran Alonso earlier in the season and has her side not just chasing the Scottish Cup but also top of the table in SWPL 1.
The Ghirls kick-off against Rangers at 12:15pm and it’ll be broadcast live on BBC One Scotland to a national audience, with the rest of the UK tuning into Football Focus and live snooker.
Celtic are the defending holders of the trophy, having beaten their city rivals in last season’s final at Hampden.
Sadiku relishing Celtic derby match
The Celtic boss said ahead of her first trip to Hampden [Celtic FC]: “It’s a derby game, it’s against Rangers. Obviously since I’ve came here I’ve been seeing it everywhere that Rangers are chasing the treble.
“We are Celtic and we want to come into every game and win our games, and that’s something that we’ve been doing really well and getting points in.
“We’re really looking forward to it. There’s no better feeling than showing up in big games when you know you have to go through.
“It’s also in a very nice and beautiful big arena so we can take the confidence of being at Celtic Park. We love playing on grass, so it’s going to be a great feeling coming here on Saturday.
“Overall, on the pitches that we’ve been playing on recently, we know we can perform good football, but obviously it’s always nice to play on grass. Because, for me at least, you always want to play on a good grass pitch.”
Matches between Celtic and Rangers in the women’s game have been tight this season with games either drawn or decided by a single goal.
However, the Ghirls will take confidence going into this one knowing they got the better of Rangers in last month’s high-stakes league derby thanks to a Tash Flint double in a 2-1 victory.
Hearts and Spartans face off in the other semi-final on Sunday with the final itself set to be played a day after the men’s showpiece occasion on May 26th.