Scottish Cup Final Celtic v Rangers Glasgow, 3.0 (Sky Sports 1)Hampden way: Paths to the final: The Old Firm managers Alex McLeish and Martin O'Neill last night issued a plea for common sense to prevail in this afternoon's Scottish Cup Final at Hampden Park.
In the last game between the clubs a fortnight ago, three players - the Rangers defender Fernando Ricksen and Celtic's Johan Mjallby and John Hartson - were sent off in the final minute.
Hartson's red card was, in fairness, later rescinded, but fears that the perennial bad blood between the teams will spill over again during a match that will be broadcast around the world has prompted the managers to step in.
"A few years ago, after there were problems in a fixture at Parkhead, the teams met in the final soon after and it passed off quietly so hopefully it will be the same again," said McLeish yesterday.
"I certainly don't want my players getting embroiled in anything nasty, although there will be no room for choirboys at Hampden."
O'Neill adopted a similar theme: "There is a duty on everyone to try and behave themselves.
"I will be mentioning to the players that we have a better chance of winning with 11 of them on the park rather than 10."
The Scottish game, reeling under the demise of Airdrie, the interim administration of Motherwell, the loss of tv revenue and the hundreds of players about to go on the dole, could do with a final spectacular to redress the balance.
Celtic, however, have doubts over Chris Sutton, Paul Lambert, Bobo Balde and Stephen Crainey who all face late fitness tests while their rivals only coaxed Ronald de Boer, Barry Ferguson and Craig Moore back into action last weekend and they will clearly lack match fitness.
Emotions will be running high on both sides of the city with both determined to claim their own respective doubles - Rangers have already secured the League Cup
O'Neill's men are just one win away from Scotland's two top trophies and Alan Thompson insisted that defeat would be more painful than losing to their arch rivals at any other time during the season.
If you lose in the league there are other games after that so you can make up for it in the coming weeks," Thompson said. "But you can't do that in the cup final so winning and not losing is the most important thing."
The day will also be a special one for Lubo Moravcik who will be playing his last game in Glasgow before he departs for Japan at the end of the season.
"If we win, I can really say bye to the fans - that would be the ideal way to go."
CELTIC (probable, 3-5-2): Douglas; Boyd, Balde, Mjallby; Agathe, Lennon, Lambert, Petrov, Thompson; Hartson, Larsson.
RANGERS (probable, 4-4-2): Klos; Ricksen, Moore, Amoruso, Numan; de Boer, Ferguson, Nerlinger, McCann; Arveladze, Lovenkrands.
Celtic
Third round: bt Alloa (A) 5-0 Sylla, Balde, Petta, Maloney, Wieghorst
Fourth round: bt Kilmarnock (A) 2-0 Larsson, Hartson (pen)
Fifth Round: bt Aberdeen (A) 2-0 Petrov, Hartson
Semi-final: bt Ayr United 3-0 Thompson 2, Larsson
Rangers
Third round: drew Berwick (A) 0-0
Replay: bt Berwick (H) 3-0 Amoruso, Arveladze, Konterman
Fourth Round: bt Hibernian (H) 4-1 Flo 2, Lovenkrands, Dodds
Fifth Round: bt Forfar (A) 6-0 Dodds 3, Arveladze 2, Kanchelskis
Semi-Final: bt Partick 3-0 Nerlinger 2, Ferguson
