Football betting tips: Scottish League Cup
1pt Nicolas Raskin to score anytime at 15/2 (Coral, Ladbrokes, Sky Bet)
0.5pts Raskin to score 2+ goals at 100/1 (BetVictor, Paddy Power)
The first Old Firm/Glasgow derby (depending on who you ask) of the season. Rangers meet Celtic in Scottish League Cup action on Sunday - a week before the duo also face off in the Scottish Premiership.
Celtic return to Ibrox with no away support following events after their success on penalties in the Scottish Cup quarter-final back in March. The clichéd 'scenes nobody wants to see' (a phrase which almost exclusive is used for events a televised audience frankly is to some degree wanting to see) resulting in punishment for both sides.
A huge 8,000 Celtic supporters were in attendance that day. Disorder on the pitch followed the final whistle. Both sides will play their first Scottish Cup home games behind closed doors - a sanction which will most likely come into effect from January.
Rangers' proposal for 300 away fans here was rejected by Celtic. We therefore return to a solely one-sided atmosphere at these contests and it's hard to disagree with Derek McInnes' verdict on that: "It's always better when opposition fans are allowed into a derby game."
"It is an ugly, ugly end to what has been a superb game of football"
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) March 8, 2026
Chaos breaks out on the pitch at Ibrox as both sets of fans end up on the pitch following Celtic's penalty shootout win over Rangers pic.twitter.com/m8cmSHEkGM
McInnes' men have started winning but have lacked conviction throughout the recent four-game run. All of those have been won by a single goal which, while maximum points were returned, will be somewhat disappointing considering that included contests against early strugglers Aberdeen and Falkirk.
Perhaps the performances did deserve more but McInnes will welcome the wins given that early pressure following European disappointment.
Celtic have, as expected, been good once again, even if those defensive frailties of the previous campaign somewhat remain. The bookmakers can't work out who is likely to progress at the time of writing but BTTS being 4/7 across the board shows action is expected at both ends.
I'd be looking towards the visitors for the result given what we've seen from the two sides so far. Even with the home advantage, it's harder to trust Rangers to deliver.
But instead of settling on the result, my eye was caught by NICOLAS RASKIN's price of 15/2 TO SCORE ANYTIME, with a smaller stakes play on the 100/1 for 2+ also making the staking plan.
Raskin netted seven times in 50 appearances across all competitions last season, with nine assists sitting on the tally as well, and while he's yet to strike in this campaign he's seen plenty of opportunities.
The midfielder averaged 1.62 shots per Scottish Premiership game in 25/26 and even if we're in the early stages of this season, all four of his appearances have delivered at least one with three coming in the games against Hibernian and St. Mirren.
He's seemingly drifting more to the right side of the pitch than we'd seen last season while he's enjoyed more touches of the ball closer to the box. That explains why some of those opportunities have carried a high underlying numbers value.
In a game expected to see opportunities for both sides, Raskin's price was one which immediately caught my eye.
Odds correct at 12:20 BST (11/09/26)
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