Celtic travelled back from the United States overnight Saturday having completed their hugely successful pre-season tour.
Brendan Rodgers’ side was in fine form, securing three victories from the three matches against MLS side DC United (4-0), English Champions Manchester City (4-3) and perhaps most impressively of all, thrashing English Premier League side Chelsea 4-1.
One point of interest when the Celtic players get back into Lennoxtown on Tuesday morning to prepare for the Scottish Premiership opener this Sunday against Kilmarnock, will be the news that they have been drawn against Hibs at Celtic Park in the League Cup round of 16. The draw took place on Sunday afternoon with Celtic being the first name out of the hat.
Thoughts of Kilmarnock and talk of the League Cup could send shivers down one or two spines in the Celtic dressing room as they recall the events of a year ago when Celtic’s defence of the League Cup won so impressively over the previous two seasons, was over before it began really with a shock defeat to a well drilled Derek McInnes Kilmarnock side down at Rugby Park.
Celtic and Hibs have had many encounters in the League Cup, most recently in the final in December 2021 when Celtic turned the game around after going a goal behind through two rather wonderful goals from Japanese striker Kyogo. That 2-1 victory delivered a first trophy for Ange Postecoglou, who would go on to win five trophies from six in his two seasons at Celtic before heading to Tottenham.
The Celtic v Hibs tie is almost certainly going to be selected for live broadcast on Premier Sports, who are also the new sponsors of the League Cup, thus the rebranding as the Premier Sports Cup. Supporters know it’s still the League Cup that their side is playing for. The match will be played to a finish on the weekend of 16/17 August and a 60,000 capacity crowd is expected at Celtic Park.
Celtic are likely to be heavy favourites not only to win this round of 16 tie against Hibs but to go on and win the League Cup. That of course would be a significant landmark in Scottish football as it would mean that Celtic’s overall trophy haul will have overtaken the combined total won by the two Ibrox clubs.
So theRangers, who have a home game against St Johnstone in the round of 16, will be just as motivated to stop Celtic winning this famous old trophy that Celtic first won in 1956, going on to retain it the next year by defeating Rangers in the final by a world record score for a major cup final. Rangers were actually favourites that day yet the scoreline of Celtic 7 Rangers 1 certainly did not flatter Celtic.
