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Rangers vs Celtic LIVE: Result, final score and reaction from Scottish League Cup final today

Relive all the action from Hampden Park

Tom Kershaw
Sunday 08 December 2019 19:15 GMT
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Celtic‘s domination of Scottish football continued with an absorbing 1-0 Betfred Cup final win over Old Firm rivals Rangers at Hampden Park.

The Light Blues passed up a series of chances with Hoops goalkeeper Fraser Forster making key saves to keep the game scoreless at the interval.

Rangers were punished for those missed opportunities when Celtic defender Christopher Jullien knocked in a Ryan Christie free-kick in the 59th minute.

Forster then saved a penalty from Alfredo Morelos, after Hoops right-back Jeremie Frimpong had been sent off by referee Willie Collum for fouling the striker inside the box.

Neil Lennon’s 10 men held out for their 10th consecutive trophy win and his first success in the tournament as a manager, as Celtic delivered a psychological blow to Rangers, who have gone eight years without a major piece of silverware.

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What time is kick-off?

The match starts at 3pm at Hampden Park on Sunday 8 December.

How can I watch it?

The final will be broadcast live on BT Sport 1, with coverage beginning at 1pm.

Line-ups

Rangers: McGregor, Tavernier, Helander, Goldson, Barisic, Jack, Kamara, Arfield, Aribo, Kent, Morelos

Celtic: Forster, Frimpong, Ajer, Jullien, Hayes, Brown, McGregor, Forrest, Christie, Elyounoussi, Morgan ​

Team news

Rangers are waiting anxiously on the fitness of Jordan Jones and Borna Barisic.

Celtic are significantly hampered by injuries though with Jozo Simunovic, Scott Bain, Jonathan Hayes and Daniel Arzani all ruled out. Mohamed Elyounoussi, Jack Hendry, Hatem Elhamid and Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo are also doubts due to niggling injuries.

Odds

Rangers 23/10

Draw 7/4

Celtic 7/5

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Welcome to The Independent's live coverage of Celtic vs Rangers as the Old Firm rivals meet in the final of the Scottish League Cup.

Tom Kershaw8 December 2019 14:11
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Mohamed Elyounoussi has been cleared to start in a boost to Neil Lennon's side. Here is how they line-up:

Tom Kershaw8 December 2019 14:19
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Meanwhile, Steven Gerrard has also been handed positive news with Borna Barisic starting for Rangers.

Tom Kershaw8 December 2019 14:21
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Neil Lennon has warned his players to be ruthless to maintain their record-breaking 30-game unbeaten streak in the cups and not allow emotions or any refereeing decisions to interfere with their run.

“It’s important to try to take that out of it. Try to be the dominant team in all aspects of the game an then you don’t have to look at wrong decisions. You’ve got to take the referee out of it, you’ve got to keep your discipline and play as strongly as you can. People who say the run needs to end at some point? It doesn’t need to be this week. Not on the run we’re on, not the way we’re playing. Not with the significance or magnitude or the game, or the opposition. We don’t want to it to stop this Sunday, we want to keep it going for as long as we can.

Tom Kershaw8 December 2019 14:34
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Steven Gerrard is speaking to BT Sport ahead of the game:

We've got to defend well, especially their front-four. They've got good technical players and we've got to nullify those threats... We need to play the game, not the occasion.

Tom Kershaw8 December 2019 14:40
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Much of the speculation in the lead-up to today's game centred around the fitness of Odsonne Edouard. The striker has been absent for the last three games and returns to the squad, but not the starting line-up. Neil Lennon has confirmed the forward will play a part in the second half.

Tom Kershaw8 December 2019 14:45
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Alfredo Morelos boasts a spectacular scoring record at Rangers, netting 73 goals in 109 appearances. However, the Colombian is still yet to break his Old Firm derby duck...

Tom Kershaw8 December 2019 14:48
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Neil Lennon has been speaking to BBC Scotland:

We've been going with Lewis Morgan for the past three games, it's not going to change that much. Odsonne Edouard said yesterday he didn't feel comfortable enough to start, but he can hopefully make an impact later in the game.

If we turn up and play we've got a chance. The wet pitch may suit us.Sometimes the quicker the pitch the better we play.

Tom Kershaw8 December 2019 14:51
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The fans are in full voice at Hampden Park. We're just minutes away from kick-off!

Tom Kershaw8 December 2019 14:57
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The noise is deafening as the players emerge from the tunnel and the smoke machines have cast a fog over the entire stadium. Here is a reminder of today's line-ups:

Rangers: McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Helander, Barisic, Kamara, Jack, Aribo, Arfield, Kent, Morelos.

Celtic: Forster, Frimpong, Jullien, Ajer, Hayes, Brown, McGregor, Forrest, Christie, Elyounoussi, Morgan.

Tom Kershaw8 December 2019 15:00

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