Celtic host their arch rivals Rangers at the Celtic Park this weekend in the game week 28 of the Ladbrokes Premiership. The Bhoys have collected an unassailable lead of 27 points over second-placed Aberdeen and are currently 33 points ahead of third-placed Rangers. However, the weekend’s clash would be much more important than mere three points for both the Scottish giants.
The Celts would be keen to keep their ‘invincible’ tag, whereas the Gers would leave no stone unturned to cultivate some resurrection by bringing down the rapidly growing monstrous team in the shape of Celtic. Brendan Rodgers’ men would be facing the same side in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup and it would be an excellent warm-up game for both the outfits and not to mention the psychological advantage the winning team is going to get from this win.
Predicted 4-2-3-1 Celtic Lineup Vs Rangers
Defence
In one of their biggest games of the season, Craig Gordon is seemingly likely to get a nod over Dorus de Vries for the post under the bar with the gloves once again and would be tested by Rangers’ attackers time and again. His shot stopping abilities and tremendous reflexes alongside his excellent positional sense would hold paramount importance yet again.
We expect Rodgers to dish out a four-man defensive wall yet again, consisting of the resilient and reliable central defensive pairing of Eric Sviatchenko and Dedryck Boyata at the heart of their defence.
Youngster Kieran Tierney has made the left-back slot his own and should be starting yet again ahead of veteran Emilio Izaguirre and on the right, Mikael Lustig is likely to be given a nod to start the proceedings by the former Liverpool gaffer.
Midfield
Nir Bitton and Scott Brown are seemingly likely to be handed the role of cushioning their backline as well as to knit the side together from the central midfield role. This region shall hold the key to break the Gers’ attacking endeavours and to create momentum going forward.
Tom Rogic still remains sidelined owing to his Malleolar injury, and is due for a return by the end of next month. Stuart Armstrong should be handed a start from the no. 10 role with Scott Sinclair stationed wide on the left.
Patrick Roberts had a tremendous outing last weekend after coming on from the bench and should be given a start on the right wing at the expense of Gary Mackay-Steven.
Attack
Right up front, Moussa Dembele is expected to start once again to trouble the Light Blues’ defensive setup. The outstanding Frenchman has already scored 17 goals and created 5 assists so far this campaign in the Ladbrokes Premiership and considering the gravity of the upcoming fixture, it would be next to impossible to see him sit out.
Gordon
Lustig-Boyata-Sviatchenko-Tierney
Brown-Bitton
Roberts-Armstrong-Sinclair
Dembele
