There's been plenty of Rangers and Celtic talk but now the time for walking is coming upon them.
Ange Postecoglou's Premiership champions meet with Michael Beale's challengers at Hampden on Sunday as the Hoops look to stop their bitter rivals from taking the Viaplay Cup trophy away from them. Celtic won the last League Cup final meeting with Rangers back in 2019 but VAR will put an end to debates like whether or not goals like Christopher Jullien's winner should stand - at least it is supposed to.
Both sides will be keen to see football as the main talking point in a match where only one can come out on top. There's been talking points aplenty in the build-up and some questions will get defintive answers when the teams head back down the tunnel at full-time. Here's five of the burning questions that will be answered in Mount Florida.
Ange's arsenal
There's so much squad depth within the Parkhead ranks but one area stands out amongst the rest. Postecoglou's engine room can shape up many different ways and look just as strong in each iteration, so what he goes with will be an indication of what he thinks is strongest at present.
Callum McGregor is a certain starter as captain, and it's hard to look past Reo Hatate's form at the minute. But questions remains over the likes of Aaron Mooy and Matt O'Riley, with a wildcard option of Tomoki Iwata waiting in the wings to spring a surprise.
Kings of Glasgow
Fashion Sakala has been the man in the headlines this week. He's called Celtic 'the other mob' and he followed that up by insisting that Rangers are the top dogs in Glasgow, despite their rivals currently reigning as league champions and holding this trophy in their cabinet.
It's fighting talk from the Zambian who will have plenty of onlookers from back home. He's talked up in definitive fashion - pardon the pun - this week but he's probably the one in blue who particularly needs to back up what they are saying.
The men through the middle
Both of the strikers likely to start on both sides are in decent form but neither of them have really had it their way in the derby. Kyogo's been on a scoring tear in the Premiership this term with 19 already to his name, but in five matches against Rangers' he's netted once, and he's only featured in one win too.
He will be keen to strike a crucial second goal and run amok like he did in last season's final versus Hibs, and Morelos will have similar feelings. He hasn't scored in three matches heading into this one but performance levels have gone up since the arrival of Michael Beale as manager, but he has a derby scoring record of two in 20. Their finishing prowess is unquestioned, but are they able to deliver on the biggest stage?
Learning curve
It was a hectic introduction to life at Celtic for new right-back Alistair Johnston when thrown into his first derby. Less than a few days after officially becoming a Hoops player, he was thrown into a pressure-cooker 2-2 draw at Ibrox and did as well as could be expected in what was his first game in green and white.
Now he's fully taken the mantle of Celtic's number one right-back, with Josip Juranovic at Union Berlin and Anthony Ralston having spent some time on the treatment table. Sunday provides an insight into just how much Johnston has learned in a short space of time since a testing Celtic debut.
Bridging the gap
Beale has won every game bar one since he took charge at Ibrox and that match which proved a frustration in terms of the end result was the New Year derby. His side caught a Celtic side on an off day and were minutes away from victory before a cruel blow was landed on them.
He inherited a nine-point gap to make up in the league and that has remained, but the new Rangers manager has not been shy in commenting on matters across the city, with his 'lucky man' comment around Celtic's budget not lost on a counterpart who has made reference to it more than once. Sunday's collision has heightened importance and is the biggest test yet on whether or not Beale's side could have the mettle to live with the Postecoglou's relentless champions
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