Premiership champions Celtic and second-tier minnows Inverness Caledonian Thistle meet in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park on Saturday.
Understandably, Celtic head into the showpiece as overwhelming favourites, having enjoyed a hugely successful campaign up to now, with the Premiership and League Cup trophies already in the silverware cabinet.
Ange Postecoglou’s men secured the League Cup title back in February, defeating arch-rivals Rangers 2-1 in the final thanks to a Kyogo Furuhashi brace. The Japanese forward has been immense this term, netting 33 goals in 49 appearances across all competitions.
Last weekend, Celtic thrashed Aberdeen 5-0 – with the help of another Kyogo brace – to finish seven points clear at the summit of the Premiership table, having lost only three of their 38 league encounters this season.
The Bhoys kicked off their Scottish Cup campaign with thrashing against Greenock Morton and St Mirren before dispatching Hearts and Rangers to reach the final. Having won a record 40 Scottish Cup titles – including four of the previous six – Celtic will be confident of adding another triumph to the list.
As for Inverness Caledonian Thistle, they clinched their first and only Scottish Cup crown back in 2015, defeating Falkirk 2-1 in the final to secure a rare piece of silverware for the club.
Caley Thistle experienced an indifferent Championship campaign this time around, recording 15 wins, 10 draws and 11 losses to finish sixth – two points outside the play-off places. Needless to say, that makes the mid-table second-tier outfit giant underdogs for Saturday’s showdown.
Inverness saw off Stirling Albion, Queen’s Park and Livingston in the early rounds of the Scottish Cup before knocking out Kilmarnock and Falkirk to book their place in the final, scoring 14 goals while conceding just three along the way.
If Caley Thistle are to upset the odds at Hampden Park, they will need top scorer Billy McKay to rise to the occasion, as the veteran striker has racked up 19 goals and seven assists this season, including five goals in five Scottish Cup games.
Unfortunately for Inverness, their head-to-head record against Celtic does not look pretty, as they have failed to win any of their previous 11 meetings with the Bhoys, suffering eight defeats in the process.
Celtic claimed three victories over Caley Thistle when they last met during the 2016-17 campaign, achieving an aggregate scoreline of 13-0. That tells you everything you need to know about the gulf in quality between the two sides.
In terms of team news, Celtic look set to be without the injured trio of Cameron Carter-Vickers (knee), Aaron Mooy (back) and James McCarthy (muscle) on Saturday, while Inverness are still missing long-term absentee Tim Walsh (ACL).
Fans in the UK can watch the final on BBC One Scotland, BBC Scotland, BBC iPlayer, Viaplay Sports 1 and via the BBC Sport website.
Expert Insight: Ultimately, anything other than a Celtic triumph would be a huge shock here. Of course, Inverness are bound to rise to the occasion and lift their game at Hampden Park, but the Premiership and League Cup champions are expected to complete the treble without any real problems.
Scottish Cup