Celtic take on Rangers this weekend in the final of the Scottish Cup and Johan Mjallby believes his old side could have an advantage over Philippe Clement’s outfit.
Both sides can claim their second piece of domestic silverware this season at Hampden; however, Brendan Rodgers has a perfect record in the competition, winning all of his 16 contested matches.
The Irishman has led Celtic to a run of just one loss in 24 matches; meanwhile, he is yet to taste defeat against city rivals Rangers, claiming three victories and a draw at Ibrox under difficult circumstances.
Nevertheless, one-off matches can spring all manner of surprises, signifying the Bhoys need to be ready for the coming fight, which follows the weekend they lifted the Scottish Premiership title.
Now, former Celtic man Mjallby has pointed to a key factor that could give his old club a distinct advantage over Philippe Clement’s outfit.
Johan Mjallby on why Celtic may have an advantage over Rangers
Speaking via The Independent, Mjallby believes that Celtic have more ‘match-winners’ in their squad than Rangers, which is one reason why they could hold a psychological advantage over their rivals.
Despite this, he hasn’t written off the threat of the opposition, as he stated: “Celtic probably have more of the momentum coming into the final. They had a wee wobble earlier in the season, but in the last two months, they’ve really hit top form, and when it mattered, they played their best football just to prove they are true champions.
“Psychologically Celtic have the edge over Rangers, no question about that, but this is a one-off game so it’s going to be a wee bit different. They should come into the final with a lot of confidence, they’ve won the league and seemed to hit their top form.
“I personally think they have more match-winners than Rangers. But you can’t disregard Rangers because they had a golden opportunity to put a lot of pressure on earlier in the season. The gap is not enormous, but at the moment, it (the advantage) should be for Celtic.”
Celtic need to show their known quality on Saturday
Celtic have shown an ability to get the job done when it matters this term, recovering from precarious moments to demonstrate why they have been the best team in Scotland over a 38-game stretch.
Come Saturday, more of the same will be needed; however, Rodgers and company know the ins and outs of who they are up against, and it isn’t likely there will be much change from either side regarding team selection at Hampden.
Hopefully, Celtic can look to exploit the weaknesses of their rivals, which will hopefully lead to a domestic double making its way back to Parkhead.
