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Mendes, Rangers set for first Old Firm showdown

Fri 29th, August 2008

Glasgow, Scotland (Sports Network) - The Scottish Premier League title has been a battle between Glasgow rivals Rangers and Celtic for many years, so it is no surprise that those two sides are on top of the SPL table ahead of their first meeting of the season.

Both teams have taken seven points from their first three games, and although these Old Firm contests are often very competitive, you would expect Rangers to have a little extra incentive heading into this season with Celtic having hoisted the last three SPL titles.

The season did not start well for Walter Smith's side as they were stunningly bounced from Champions League qualification by Kaunas, but they rebounded by winning their first two league contests.

The team had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Aberdeen last time out, but midfielder Pedro Mendes feels as though there were plenty of positives to take from the match.

"We were disappointed only to take one point from the Aberdeen game but we are confident of building on the good things we did there," Mendes said. "It is up to us to improve and try to play as well as we did in spells for longer periods of the game."

Celtic stumbled two weeks ago against Dundee United as they finished 1-1, but the Hoops bounced back with a comfortable 3-0 win against Falkirk last weekend.

Gordon Strachan's men will be the lone representative in the Champions League from Scotland this season, and they learned on Thursday that they will be in a group with Manchester United, AaB and Villarreal.

"When you look at all the groups, none of them are easy. In the Champions League, it's always the same. That's the level we are playing at," Celtic striker Georgios Samaras told the team's website.

"In my opinion, it's a good draw. I think we have the ability to achieve something similar to what we did last season. We have good games to look forward to and I think our results at Celtic Park will be very important."

While Celtic is certainly looking forward to their European campaign, they must first take care of a hungry Rangers side that will be looking to take the upper hand in the early part of the season, and one player in particular who is relishing his first taste of the Old Firm rivalry.

"People always tell you about games against Celtic but I think you probably need to play in one to really live it," Mendes said. "They are special fixtures for the supporters and I really hope I get the chance to take part and that my teammates and I do as well as possible."

The Celtic and Rangers match takes center stage on Sunday, but there is a full slate of matches on Saturday as well.

Kilmarnock finished in the bottom half of the table last year but has seven points through three games this year. They will take to the road to meet Dundee United while Inverness invades Falkirk, surprise club Hamilton hosts Hearts, Motherwell travels to Hibernian and St Mirren plays host to Aberdeen.

Where the players come to play and STAY.