Chris Sutton makes ‘embarrassing’ claim ahead of Celtic vs Rangers Viaplay Cup final

Former Celtic star Chris Sutton has been speaking ahead of the Viaplay Cup final between the Hoops and Rangers on Sunday.

The Scottish Premiership’s top two will go head-to-head at Hampden Park in an Old Firm cup final, and it’s set up to be a cracker. Celtic are the favourites, currently nine points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, but anything can happen in cup games, and indeed in cup finals.

Rangers already know they are likely to miss out on the league title again this season, and that will make this one that much more important for Michael Beale and his men. Ahead of the game, former Celtic star Sutton has been speaking, and he has warned his old club to keep an eye on Gers star Fashion Sakala.

“Fashion Sakala is a dangerous player and Celtic will need to keep an eye on him at Hampden,” said the former striker. “He’s got pace and a bit of unpredictability and he’s already shown in derby encounters. There are also times when his second touch is either a tackle or it ends up in Row Z and it’s like he doesn’t always know what his feet are doing.

“The same could be said about his mouth. Sakala might have been pandering to the masses in his Viaplay Cup Final press conference, but I’m sure there were even sensible Rangers fans who would have groaned at some of his comments.”

Sutton also spoke about the gap between the two sides this season. He added: “Talking about Rangers being ‘better than Celtic’ when they failed to win the league last season and are nine points behind this year is just embarrassing.

“Calling Celtic ‘the other mob’ is no big deal really, but it’s all a bit naive from the attacker. It was the same with Mick Beale’s refusal to name their rivals a while back. It’s all just a bit small fry. Listen, I don’t quite buy the old cliché about pinning up stuff to the dressing room wall as motivation.

“I’m not sure Celtic will need any extra motivation to win a Cup Final, but if they did then this will only fuel the fire. It will all be fine if Rangers lift the trophy and he gets on the scoresheet. He can say, ‘I told you so’ or whatever he wants. But he could also end up looking really silly if it doesn’t go Rangers’ way.”