Hollywood actor Gianni Capaldi spoke exclusively to HITC, sharing with us his views on tomorrow’s huge Old Firm tie and how he thinks the game will pan out.
The Scottish giants face each other tomorrow in the first Old Firm derby in the league since Rangers enforced relegation to the fourth tier back in 2012.
Talking exclusively to HITC, Hollywood actor Gianni Capaldi gave a very confident prediction of how the game would go, and was in no doubts as to who would emerge victorious.
The actor, who has starred alongside big names such as Morgan Freeman and Mickey Rooney, said he expected Celtic to run out 3-0 victors, providing Leigh Griffiths starts the game.
Capaldi believes Leigh Griffiths is a key man for Celtic
The prolific forward is an injury doubt ahead of tomorrow’s Old Firm clash with Rangers, although Capaldi is still confident of a win whether the Scotsman starts or not.
“If Griffiths plays, it will definitely be 3-0. If he doesn’t possibly 2-0 but there will be no threat from Rangers at all,” he confidently predicted.
“The divide is still massive between the two clubs,” he went on to add, “with the Champions League money, that divide will be even bigger in talent come January.”
The Old Firm rivalry is one of the fiercest in world football
Celtic fans will be hoping Capaldi is right, as they look to bounce back from a penalty defeat to their great rivals in the Scottish Cup last season, after the match was tied at 2-2 in normal time.
Both teams have made major reinforcements since then, but Capaldi has no doubts that Celtic’s new recruits will handle the occasion a lot better than Rangers’ new boys.
“Sinclair will run ragged, and I expect a Rangers player to be sent off trying to deal with him out of frustration,” Capaldi told HITC.
Scott Sinclair is a new signing at Celtic
The former Motherwell youth player went on to add that he was, “Excited to see the link up play between Dembele and Sinclair as well as watching Forrest in his new lease of life.”
As for Rangers and their new signings, Capaldi was quick to dismiss them, “The new young boys at rangers won’t handle the pressure at Parkhead and will definitely get stage fright,” adding “McCoist is a wise man, he knows Rangers are nowhere near Celtic as he stated this week.”
Former Rangers boss Ally McCoist said it would be “two or three years” before Rangers could become a dominant force in Scottish football again
Capaldi had some kind words to say about bitter rivals Rangers, commenting that he thinks “Barton won’t lose the rag as people say, I believe he will be vital for Rangers,” although he tempered that by adding that “his form so far this season has been mediocre.”
He also conceded that Celtic do have one weakness, which is defending balls coming into the box, and Capaldi reiterated that “both central defenders will need to hold the line when it comes to crosses.”
Capaldi afforded some praise for Rangers signing Joey Barton
Ultimately though, Capaldi is a confident man, as seems to be the general theme coming from Celtic supporters ahead of the much anticipated tie. His final words to us stated “Prediction 3-0”.
Most would certainly agree that Celtic had the stronger set of individuals, but the two teams are currently first and second in the SPL table, suggesting Rangers are no pushovers.
What’s more, this is a derby, and a heated one too. Far more will come into play than just ability, but Celtic fans will be hoping their team play the match and not the occasion, and if they do you would have to make them favourites.
The all-time record between the two teams has seen Rangers win 159 ties, Celtic win 145 and 97 games ending in draws, with the biggest victory to date being a 7-1 victory by Celtic back in 1957.
Who will come out on top tomorrow between Celtic and Rangers?
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