Predicted Celtic XI vs Rangers: Brendan Rodgers makes 6 changes with Idah and Kyogo dilemma solved at Hampden

Celtic will aim to retain their Scottish Cup this weekend when facing Rangers at Hampden.

The Old Firm rivals may meet four times a season in the Premiership but the last time they faced off in this showpiece was 2002. League title glory was sealed last week and now boss Brendan Rodgers is eyeing a double, with Rangers having won the League Cup in December.

He said pre-match: “Any final is always a challenge, and obviously a Celtic/Rangers final is a great occasion. But, for us, it’s really focusing on our game and how we can win the game. From a football perspective there’s no different approach to this game, to the other four games we’ve had in the league.

“You can never have that arrogance. It’s not how we work - we have a humility in how we work. We respect every opponent that we play, whether it’s Rangers or Raith or whoever. We have to prepare for the game. We come into the game in the ideal condition, I don’t think there’s any doubt on that.

“We’ve been on fire the last few months, playing really well. There were some challenges for us at the beginning of the season – playing every three or four days when really important players were missing. So that was a challenge, but I think over the course of the season as it built up and then into the pressure moments of the season, the players have been absolutely superb in how they’ve dealt with that.

“The motivation is to win the game, The Scottish Cup is a historical competition and every time we come here to Hampden we want to win the big games and the big competitions, so it would finish off a Double for us which would point to a really good season.”

Captain Callum McGregor said: “The way that I’ve been brought up and the way my football career’s panned out so far, I’ve tried to maximize every opportunity that I’ve got, and at the start of the season I want to try and win everything that we’re in.

“When you lose one, it hurts and that stays with you, and throughout my career I’ve tried to limit the amount of times I’ve felt like that, so come Saturday I’m going try and limit the amount of times I feel like that again.

“We go into the game at the weekend full of confidence, but we understand the challenge. It’s going to be a massive game and both teams are really good teams, so we understand where we are. We have to give everything to the game, and in cup finals you need a bit of luck, you need things to go your way, you need to play well on the day, so we’ve got a good chance.

“It’s a great occasion and a great showpiece for Scottish football, and it’s brilliant to be involved in as a player. This is what you want to do, this is why you play football, and if this doesn’t get you excited then you’re probably in the wrong sport.”

With six changes to the team from last weekend’s win over St Mirren, here’s how we think the Celtic team will line-up vs Rangers.

Starting XI: Hart; Johnston, Carter Vickers, Scales, Taylor; McGregor, Hatate, O’Riley; Forrest, Idah, Maeda.

Subs: Bain, Ralston, Nawrocki, Welsh, Iwata, Bernardo, Kuhn, Kyogo, Palma.