What would you give?

Enough, I would suggest, to hope that Brendan Rodgers' side beat Dundee in the League Cup on Wednesday night so that they can have that particular distinction all to themselves at the weekend.

And what would the Celtic support give to avoid the prospect of Rangers becoming the first side to burst their team's domestic bubble when the teams collide at Ibrox on Saturday?

Enough, I would have thought, to prefer the prospect of losing to Dundee and forfeiting the retention of the Treble rather than going through that particular ignominy at Ibrox.

That's the way it is in the private world of Old Firm rivalry.

Processing the idea of defeat is becoming so complicated for the Celtic fans that there was an invader from the Planet Daftie during their mauling from Paris St Germain in the Champions League last week.

His behaviour while aiming a kick at the away team's teenage striker Kylian M'Bappe for the sin of being a good player was inexcusable, but the reasons why Celtic lost that game have been many and varied and involved the Celtic fans tying themselves in knots.

We'll leave it at Celtic having been caught in the glare of the French side's brilliance and say no more about it for the time being.

But the pre-match observations concerning Saturday afternoon's domestic drama are building up a nice head of eccentric steam.

Celtic's James Forrest has joined in by saying his side could score even more than the five goals they managed on their last visit to Rangers' ground.

It is a matter of public record that my ability to correctly forecast the outcome of football matches can, at times, be best described as suspect.

But if Celtic score more than five at the weekend then I am the proverbial monkey's uncle.

The score will be, according to some callers to Superscoreboard, whatever Celtic want it to be.

This is a sign of supreme confidence if you belong in that camp, a symbol of misplaced arrogance if you disagree.

Either way, passion is bubbling up nicely and will lead to a week of memorable conversation on the programme.

I have already been on the receiving end of criticism so intense it was unfathomable after committing the sin of tipping Rangers to win by four clear goals against Partick Thistle on Friday night.

This was, as we all now know, a forecast that fell to earth with a resounding thump.

But the caller who, twenty four hours later, searched for a convoluted explanation as to why I had made that prediction in the first place took all of us to a new level of dismay.

Let me try to simplify the matter.

I thought Rangers would have the capability of scoring four times at whatever they call Partick Thistle's ground. And it didn't happen.

This faulty forecast had nothing to do with any dark, satanic wish to see any harm come to the home team. Nor was it driven by any desire to see Rangers grow in confidence before their next league game, against Celtic.

I got it wrong. Pure and simple.

I also tipped Celtic to take four of Ross County. I got that one right while not claiming any mystical powers of punditry.

I took a guess and it came off, which is the long and short of this prediction lark. You move from one failure to the next with no loss of enthusiasm and one day you actually get it right.

But if you want to believe all of it is driven by some fervent wish to see one team, or another, win or lose then be my guest. Life's too short.

For what it's worth, and to get this out of the way in the interests of getting on with the rest of my life, I happen to think Celtic will narrowly win the Old Firm game on the ground of their oldest rivals at the weekend.

I say oldest rivals because that drives some people up the pole since they believe a fundamental change to have taken place in the game's history.

I refer to the Old Firm because that has the same argumentative effect on those who have allowed this stuff to take over their lives.

Get over yourselves and enjoy the game as best you can while being in a state of high agitation.

I think Celtic will win because they are the better side and possess the stronger, attacking threat.

I have a suspicion that the main threat to this prediction will come from a Celtic defence which can sometimes give the impression they would be unable to keep pigeons out of a loft.

Nine goals conceded in two European matches on a back to back basis suggests something short of solidity at the back for Celtic and Alfredo Morelos could take advantage of that defensive laxity.

There you are. The elephant has been removed from the room. I think Celtic will win, but they could also be the architects of their own downfall unless they're careful.

That wasn't hard, was it?

Now can we get on with the League Cup ties, both of which will be won by Celtic and Rangers.

I think

• Hugh Keevins