Set phasers to Hampden Park.

All roads lead to the Mount Florida bowl as Celtic and Aberdeen put their respective unbeaten records on the line in the Scottish League Cup semi-final.

Something will have to give as Brendan Rodgers' men in green and white battle it out with Jimmy Thelin's Reds for the right to participate in the first domestic occasion of the season.

This is the first showpiece match of the campaign at the national stadium and it is perhaps fitting that Scottish football's top two are going head-to-head.

The stage is set for a cup classic. If it is anything like last season's Scottish Cup semi-final then we could be in for a treat.

Strap yourselves in a League Cup cracker could be about to ensue.

Celtic manager Rodgers certainly has a few key decisions to make personnel-wise, that's for sure. The Celtic Way’s Ryan McGinlay and Tony Haggerty each have their say… 

Tony Haggerty 

It is an intriguing semi-final tie and arguably would have been a better Scottish League Cup final.

Hey-ho, we are where we are. Scottish football's top two in a joust to have the right to face either Motherwell or Rangers at Hampden Park on December 15th.

In the red corner is Jimmy Thelin's upstarts from the Granite City. The Reds are unbeaten in all competitions under the Swede and have already come to Glasgow and plundered a 2-2 draw against Celtic as well as defeating Rangers 2-1 in midweek at Pittodrie to join Rodgers's men in moving nine points clear of the Ibrox side.

In the green and white corner, a Celtic team led by Irishman Rodgers. He has yet to taste defeat at Hampden Park in a major showpiece match.

The 51-year-old has the selection dilemmas that every Celtic manager dreams of. Players returning to full fitness and a plethora of options at their disposal in all areas of the park.

Great Dane Kasper Schmeichel will be between the sticks and he will be ably assisted in the back-line by man of the moment Alistair Johnston who is looking to score for the third successive match as well as pick up his third man of the match award in the process. The Canadian right-back has been in irresistible and outstanding form of late. Greg Taylor wins the nod over Alex Valle for the left-back berth but only just. The Spaniard has shown that he is a capable player worthy of pushing Taylor all the way for the coveted starting role. Cameron Carter-Vickers will keep his place in the starting XI for this one and he will be joined by Irishman Liam Scales. It is tough luck on Auston Trusty who has raised his own bar of performance levels to a ridiculous level since starring against Atalanta in the Champions League goalless draw in Bergamo. 

In the midfield, Celtic will welcome back the metronome and captain fantastic Callum McGregor who is a dab hand at winning at Hampden.  He will be joined by £11 million man Arne Engels who may well relish the big national stadium stage. Reo Hatate will make up the third member of the engine room triumvirate and it is his creativity that shades it over Portuguese under-21 midfielder Paulo Bernardo.

Who will lead the Celtic attack? That is the $64,000 question. There is an argument and school of thought that says Kyogo has gone off the boil and is uncharacteristically missing sitters of late and that Adam Idah could well be the shout. Hampden Park is where the Japanese talisman comes alive and his goal-scoring record and prowess inside this arena is impeccable. Kyogo to lead the line. Either side of him will be Celtic's two top goalscorers for the campaign this far. German winger Nicolas Kuhn will be deployed on the right flank and Daizen Maeda will occupy the left wing.

It has all the ingredients for a rip-snorting clash. Celtic's strength in depth and big game knowledge of how to such occasions will come to the fore in this one.

Aberdeen served up notice that they meant business when they came from 0-2 down at Celtic Park to snatch a 2-2 draw.

That was the warning shot over the bow to Celtic who will need to bang at it for 90 minutes and beyond in this one.

Celtic to win 3-1 and book a place in the League Cup final and Rodgers to make it 14 wins out of 14 at Hampden Park.

Tony's team: Schmeichel, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; McGregor, Engels, Hatate; Kuhn, Kyogo, Maeda.

Ryan McGinlay

This feels massive - because it is.

The two top sides in Scotland facing off against each other in a one-off game in the Premier Sports Cup at the national stadium under the lights. Is your appetite whetted yet? It should be!

Let us get down to team lines for this one, shall we? I'm going to go for a mix of changes and continuity concerning how Celtic will line up at Hampden, as Rodgers will name the strongest side possible for this mammoth tie.

Schmeichel will remain in goals, who pulled off an immense save in the opening minutes last time out against Dundee on Wednesday. I suspect he will have a busier evening on Saturday. Here comes my big talking point, as Trusty will keep his place alongside Carter-Vickers in place of Scales. It is important to underline that the Irishman is not getting dropped here, but more an insistence that the two Americans have to start together in this one on merit. Scales still has his part to play in this team. On the left and right, Valle will return to the team at left-back, as will Johnston on the right after his goalscoring heroics the other night.

In the midfield, Celtic captain McGregor will start after missing the last two games, sitting at the base of the midfield for Rodgers. Engels will try to bring that creativity to the middle of the park, while Hatate will feature in the advanced role. A big day for the latter two, both will have to be at their best to ensure that Celtic gets to the first final possible in this campaign.

In the forward areas, Kyogo will lead the line despite the return of Idah, where he will be supported by Maeda and Kuhn on either side. After shaking off a hip issue, Kuhn will be looking to score his third goal against Aberdeen, a side he enjoys featuring against. Maeda will be called upon to bring both his defensive maturity and his attacking prowess in this one.

This will be a close game, but I predict that Celtic will win this one - though only just.

Ryan's team: Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Valle; McGregor, Engels, Hatate; Kuhn, Kyogo, Maeda