Celtic will be looking to defend their League Cup title on Sunday afternoon when they face Old Firm rivals Rangers at Hampden.
Sunday will be the third meeting of the season between Rangers and Celtic, with the Hoops winning 4-0 in the first meeting at Celtic Park before a 2-2 draw at Ibrox. Ange Postecoglou's side beat Kilmarnock 2-0 in the semi-finals to reach the showpiece event, with Michael Beale's men defeating Aberdeen 2-1 after extra time to secure their return to the national stadium.
Both sides are in terrific form heading into the final clash, with the rivals both winning their last nine consecutive games following their 2-2 draw at the beginning of the year. Celtic beat Hibernian 2-1 in the final last year, whilst the Light Blues' last League Cup win came in 2011.
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So, who will emerge victorious and lift the Viaply Cup trophy on Sunday? We simulated the game to try and find out.
Rangers vs Celtic simulated
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the Rangers and Celtic squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that the Gers could set up in a 4-2-1-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Davies, Barisic; Raskin, Lundstram; Tillman; Sakala, Morelos, Kent.
We predict that the Hoops could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Hart; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Starfelt, Taylor; Mooy, McGregor, Hatate; Jota, Kyogo, Maeda.
The opening 30 minutes of the game belonged to Celtic, with the Hoops seeing more of the ball and creating some well-worked openings. Allan McGregor made three big saves to deny Celtic from close range, but Postecoglou's side found the first goal of the game soon after through a moment of pure class.
Jota did well to beat two men down the left before reaching the byline, and he found Kyogo Furuhashi unmarked who had dropped to the edge of the box. With no pressure on the striker, Kyogo opted to shoot from range, and his curling effort dipped into to top corner of the net to make it 1-0.
Early in the second half, Beale introduced Todd Cantwell in an effort to get his side back into the game. His change worked fantastically, with the Englishman scoring twice in three minutes to turn the game on its head.
Cantwell was first to react when Joe Hart's save parried back into danger, and the Englishman reached the loose ball ahead of Carl Starfelt to poke under the 'keeper. The second was much more eye-pleasing, with the substitute finishing off a fantastic passing move by tapping Alfredo Morelos' pass into an empty net.
The goals seemed to shock Celtic, and the Hoops found themselves struggling to create chances after going behind. But, a slip in concentration from the Gers in the 93rd minute allowed the Hoops to find an equaliser and send the game to extra time.
Ben Davies played a sloppy pass to Borna Barasic in defence, allowing Daizen Maeda to intercept and surge through on goal. The winger chipped a ball into the box where Jota was unmarked, and the Portuguese man fired into the corner to make it 2-2.
After 120 minutes, the two sides couldn't be separated, and the final went to penalties. Both sides scored their opening two spot kicks, but Barasic and Callum McGregor both missed as the shootout remained 2-2.
Liel Abada missed Celtic's fourth after Cantwell buried his penalty, and with all the pressure on him, Fashion Sakala sent Joe Hart the wrong way to make it 4-2 and confirm the win for Rangers.
FIFA 23 predicted score: Rangers 2-2 Celtic (Rangers win 4-2 on penalties)
FIFA 23 predicts that an extremely evenly-matched contest between Rangers and Celtic could go down to the wire, with the Light Blues winning on penalties in the simulation. Substitutions proved key for Rangers, with Cantwell coming off the bench to score twice and help his side lift the trophy.
What do you think the score will be between Rangers and Celtic on Sunday? Let us know in the comments!
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