Joe Hart destroys Rangers fans’ excuse against Celtic

Celtic are set to take on the Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final this weekend at Hampden Park and it is safe to say that most people expect this to be a very tight contest between the Glasgow giants. Both clubs have reasons to be confident heading into the game. On one hand, the Hoops have gotten the best of the Ibrox side in their previous two meetings. On the other hand, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team are fresh off of booking their place in the Europa League semi-finals.

Thus, while one has to give a slight edge to Celtic ahead of the fourth Glasgow Derby of the campaign, it would be a huge mistake to count the Rangers out. One also has to remember that this game is arguably more important for them.

In midweek, the Rangers did end up playing 120 minutes of football against SC Braga though and many have claimed that this has handed Celtic an advantage in the Scottish Cup semi-final.

Joe Hart does not hold that view though. As reported by Glasgow Times, when asked if the Hoops had an edge going into the game, the Celtic number one said:

"“Not really.“We’ve done Thursday-Sunday and we’ve always felt good going into either of those games.“They’re professional athletes, they’re built to play twice a week just like we are, so I’m sure they will be as prepared as they need to be.”"

Do Celtic have an advantage because of the Rangers playing 120 minutes vs SC Braga?

It will be interesting to see if Celtic are indeed the fresher side on the day. After all, both the Hoops and the Rangers have had to play twice every week for the majority of the season, so they must be used to it by now.

Of course, Celtic were knocked out of the UEFA Europa Conference League by Bodo/Glimt earlier in the campaign, which has meant that they did not have a game in midweek this time around.

But with it being the Glasgow Derby and the semi-final of the Scottish Cup, one has to feel that both sides have to up for it, whether they played in midweek or not.

When it comes to the psychological advantage, Celtic might very well have the edge as they have won the previous two Glasgow Derbies and have arguably been the better side in all three this season till now.