THE ANATOMY OF A CUP SHOCK

IF Inverness can upset the odds at Hampden this evening, it would go down as arguably the biggest shock in Scottish Cup history. Few people give Caley Thistle much of a chance against a Celtic team chasing a Treble. But, if the Championship underdogs are to secure a famous victory, Mail Sport’s CALUM CROWE takes a look at some of the key things that they will need to get right.

DEFENCE AND KEEPER NEED TO PLAY A BLINDER

In a 5-0 thrashing of Aberdeen last weekend, Celtic dominated with almost 80-per-cent possession and had 20 shots at goal. That was against the team which finished as best of the rest in third place in the Premiership. Inverness, meanwhile, finished sixth in the Championship. So you can understand why Caley Thistle keeper Mark Ridgers is expecting to be the busiest man at Hampden. By his own admission, he might well need to produce the game of his life. The same goes for the back four in front of him, who will need to be water-tight to silence Celtic’s 33-goal Player of the Year Kyogo Furuhashi.

MAKE THE MOST OF SET-PIECES

While Inverness boss Billy Dodds intends to go on the attack, it’s hard not to feel like their best chance of a goal might well come from a set-piece. Celtic will be without their most dominant defender, Cameron Carter-Vickers, due to injury. The back line have struggled in his absence — shipping nine goals in three games against Rangers, St Mirren and Hibernian. If Inverness can win some corners or free-kicks in dangerous areas, it’s imperative they make the most of them.

PROVIDE SERVICE TO BILLY MCKAY

After netting a double in the 3-0 win over Falkirk in the semi-final, Mckay now stands on 100 goals for Inverness, just one short of the all-time club record held by Dennis Wyness. He might be 34 years of age, but there’s no doubt the veteran striker is still razor-sharp in front of goal. He has scored 19 in all competitions this season and will look to pounce on any uncertainty in the Celtic backline at Hampden.

HOPE THE VAR GODS ARE SMILING ON YOU... The SPFL Championship doesn’t have VAR yet, so Inverness aren’t really accustomed to the madness it can often spark. If there are any controversial decisions, any dubious penalties or handballs, it would do their chances no harm at all if they came out on the right side of those calls.