Elena Sadiku: Celtic 'will need to be at their best' to get past Rangers in semi-final

Elena Sadiku knows her Celtic team will need to be at their best to get past Rangers and reach the final of the Women’s Scottish Cup.

The Hoops have a two-point lead over their Old Firm rivals at the top of the SWPL but attention turns to cup action this weekend with the sides set to meet at Hampden on Saturday.

The three league meetings this season between the pair have been tight this season with Rangers winning one, Celtic winning one and the other ending in a 1-1 draw.

And Sadiku, who replaced former boss Fran Alonso at the start of the season, is expecting this one to be much the same, but is confident her squad can reach the final.

Speaking to the media on Thursday she said: “We are expecting a close game, we know that Rangers are a great team and we are a great team, so it is going to be tight, it’s going to be good and that’s what we look forward to.

“I think from our performances recently you can see that we are getting into a better position. That gives us a lot of confidence, it’s not only me getting more confident you can see that with the players as well.

“It’s just a nice feeling as a coach seeing your players performing and doing well every game and that’s something that makes me happy.

“I want the players to feel the same excitement in every game we play, but obviously this is a semi-final and not only a semi-final because it is also against Rangers. We know how good Rangers are and that we need to be performing at our best to make the final.

“Obviously we know that it could come down to extra-time and penalties so that is something we need to be prepared for and it is my job to prepare the players for every situation.

“I believe in my players, I trust my players and hopefully they feel that I do.”

Hearts and Spartans meet in the second semi-final on Sunday.