Sunday 1 February 2015 12:49, UK
Charlie Nicholas says he would be amazed if Rangers beat Celtic in next Sunday's Scottish League Cup semi-final but admits the results in the FA Cup over the weekend show anything is possible in football.
Bradford stunned Chelsea 4-2 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday while Middlesbrough were ending Manchester City's interest in the competition at the Etihad.
The previous evening, Manchester United failed to beat Cambridge United while 24 hours later Bolton earned the right to take Liverpool back to the Macron Stadium after a battling goalless draw at Anfield.
Celtic currently lead the Scottish Premiership by three points from resurgent Aberdeen while Rangers are 13 points adrift of Hearts in the second tier of Scottish football.
Speaking to the Morning View on Sky Sports News HQ, Nicholas said: "There could be an upset. I'd be amazed if it did happen although after this weekend I shouldn't be.
"But it's different in Glasgow where the pressure will be on both sides. Rangers are trying to get back to the higher heights of where they should be in Scottish football.
"They are a league below Celtic and their quality is a lot less than Celtic's. Celtic's financial muscle has moved on, although Celtic's team has not moved on.
There could be an upset but I'd be amazed if it did happen, although after this weekend I shouldn't be.
"They have actually come back the way in the last two or three seasons but looking at what each team has, Rangers rely so much on people like Lee McCulloch who is 36. He lacks pace at the back but has been great for Rangers
"But Celtic have all the muscle and the best quality so they should go and win this but the pressure is on both because Rangers fans will be there demanding they put up a real good fight.
"So don't be surprised. This will not be a footballing classic but what it will be it will be intense, with lots of drama and red cards. I'd be amazed if there's no red cards so the whole thing will be dramatic.
'Trouble-free'
"It won't be a footballing spectacle and I just hope for the sake of Scottish football that it's trouble-free both before and after the match. That is the most I want out of this although it would be nice to see if we could get a proper game between two giants of Scotland."
Asked if he thought Rangers would gain promotion this season from the Championship, the former Celtic and Arsenal striker said 'No, I think they will falter now.
"They are not going to bring in any players and I think they need an injection of players and the ones who are running the club are not prepared to put in financial muscle. Rangers need two or three players for me and I think they could easily lose out on the play-offs.
"At the start of the season Ally McCoist brought in players like Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller, experienced goalscorers to get them out of the league and move on.
"But I look at their side now... the defence is average, the midfield is very average and they are not scoring a lot of goals and their only real talent, Lewis Macleod, has just gone to Brentford.
"So they are really struggling and the crowd, who will turn up this weekend, have not been following them with any good joy. So the gulf is quite big but if Celtic have an off day and Rangers are up for the battle, it could easily be taken right to the wire.
"And Macleod's transfer just sums up the situation at Ibrox. It is ridiculous for me when you look at some of the values in England, for instance Kyle Naughton went for £5m recently (from Spurs to Swansea) and he wasn't even in their team.
"I'm not saying that this kid is worth that, but if they had kept him to the summer and he helped them get in the play-offs or maybe the SPFL he's done his job and his value would more than double and he becomes a £3m player.
"But to have to force him to go for £1m to balance the books, does that mean every time Rangers turn the corner there is going to be another player moving on? Selling him for £1m was criminal."
