Co-operative Insurance Cup final - Celtic v Rangers
Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Sunday, 20 March Kick-off: 1500 GMT Coverage: Live on BBC One Scotland from 1430, streamed live on BBC Sport website & BBC Radio Scotland live commentary. Updates on Radio 5 live & live text commentary on BBC Sport website

David Weir will try to contain Gary Hooper at Hampden on Sunday

By Pat Nevin BBC football pundit

This is a very tough game to call.

Celtic go into it as favourites because they have played the better football in the last few encounters, which they have won 3-0 and 1-0.

Looking back across the five games the teams have played against one another this season, Celtic have won three and drawn one - this would point to Neil Lennon's team having the upper hand.

However, with this being an Old Firm match and a cup final, anything can happen.

It has become the norm for Smith to play 5-4-1 in matches against the better teams they face.

Though the formation worked when Rangers drew 0-0 at PSV Eindhoven in the Europa League, it clearly did not work in the last game against Celtic.

They were under siege for large parts of the game and were unable to put enough pressure on the Celtic goal.

When they went a goal or two down they just couldn't change their set-up to any great effect. In a 5-4-1 formation you need someone up front who will close down the opposition at every opportunity and who will hold on to the ball to allow support to arrive.

Thomas Rogne may partner Charlie Mulgrew in Celtic's central defence

Quite simply, Rangers haven't looked as sharp since Kenny Miller left for Bursaspor. He played the lone striker role well for the club, and for Scotland, and his departure has really hurt the Ibrox side.

So who else can play there? Nikica Jelavic's best position is playing just off another striker, but partly because of Rangers' squad and partly down to Miller's departure, he hasn't been able to play like that too often.

It's been quite hard for him; it's just the circumstances at the club, really. He's a very clever player, possibly the most technically gifted in Scotland, and I feel the Rangers fans have yet to see the best of him.

I used to admire him even before he came to play in Scotland. Given the right service, he will score goals, but I wonder just how fit he is at the moment and I really think he works better in a front pairing.

El Hadji Diouf could also play on his own up front but it's a very tough role. It can be dispiriting haring from one side of the pitch to the other, chasing shadows, and it's not uncommon for the frustration to spill over.

Diouf has the running power but how disciplined could he be? It would be a big risk for the Rangers management team.

Another option would be Kyle Lafferty, but we will have to wait to see if he recovers from the injury he sustained when Rangers lost to PSV in the return leg on Thursday.

A different plan for Rangers would be to play 4-4-2, but that brings a problem in defence.

Davie Weir is a magnificent professional. He still performs so many parts of his role brilliantly - his organisation of the defence, his reading of the game, his effect on his team-mates - but he is not as quick as he used to be.

This was exposed by Georgios Samaras in the game at Ibrox in New Year, which Celtic won 2-0, and by Gary Hooper in the 3-0 win on 20 February. These are just two examples and, let's face it, it's natural that his speed is going to fade as he gets older.

But Hooper is a very fast player indeed and he would fancy breaking clear of Weir if presented with the chance.

Rangers need a plan C, and if anyone can come up with it, Walter Smith can Former Scotland winger Pat Nevin

If Weir and Madjid Bougherra were to form a two-man central defensive pairing, the Algerian would need to play in a very disciplined manner. He is a defender who likes to play as a right-winger at times and Rangers would need to make sure they did not leave Weir on his own.

Lee McCulloch used to drop back and fill the gap but the midfielder is injured.

And it's not just an issue of pace: a Rangers back four instead of a five would give Celtic extra space in which to create chances.

Kyle Bartley's injury against PSV is a horrible blow for him and his team. There is no doubt Rangers will miss him. However, it will help the Rangers management team decide on their line-up.

If Bartley had been available and Rangers had played four at the back, Smith would have had a selection dilemma. Would he have gone with Bougherra and Weir? Bartley and Weir? Or, would Smith have dropped Weir and gone with Bougherra and Bartley?

So if plan A lacks the ideal striker and plan B exposes Weir, then Rangers need a plan C, and if anyone can come up with it, Walter Smith can.

He might go for a 4-5-1 with someone playing in front of the two centre-halves, like a deep-lying midfielder. The question is who?

Ricky Foster is cup-tied which means Steven Whittaker is unlikely to be released from his right-back berth to play in midfield, or at left-back. The knock-on effect of that is that there is less scope for Sasa Papac to move into central defence.

The defence is the first thing that Rangers have to sort out after their recent results against their old rivals.

Celtic have fewer selection problems - and some of them are welcome.

The first task for McCoist, Smith and McDowell is to decide on the defence

Charlie Mulgrew will surely start in central defence, but with Daniel Majstorovic injured, who will partner the former Aberdeen player? It's a toss-up between Thomas Rogne and Glenn Loovens. However, both have shown their weaknesses and I think it will come down to who shows up best in training.

In midfield, Scott Brown will definitely play. It's just a case of which other three players will join him.

Beram Kayal has been a fantastic signing by Neil Lennon, and I love watching Ki Sung-Yeung. He is a very classy midfielder and could play at a high level in England, I'm certain of it.

Kris Commons has hit it off immediately since joining Celtic, adding pace, dynamism and goals, and then there is Joe Ledley, who had a major say in the Cup win at Inverness on Wednesday.

Neil Lennon loves his team to attack and Commons fits that set-up perfectly. Whichever way Lennon wants to play it, he will have a couple of quality players on the bench.

If it's, say, Brown, Commons, Ki and Kayal, they will certainly face Steven Davis in the centre of the pitch. The Rangers playmaker needs someone in the centre of midfield with him to win the ball.

With no McCulloch and with Whittaker required at right-back, it leaves Maurice Edu as an almost certain pick.

Davis and Edu are in for a tough match.

Hooper will be the first-choice striker and I think he could be partnered by Samaras, who is such an adaptable footballer. He can play through the middle but it is more likely that he will play wide to stretch Rangers' defence.

So, both Smith and Lennon have decisions to make, the former's the more challenging.

I would love to see an open game. With any luck, it will be a high-scoring match.

Pat was talking to BBC Scotland's Keir Murray. Pat will join Scotland manager Craig Levein and Everton boss David Moyes on the expert Sportscene panel on BBC One Scotland at 1430 GMT on Sunday.

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