Scottish Premiership has been a one-horse race for quite some time now as Celtic have thoroughly dominated the league since past six seasons, even after Rangers’ return to the top tier after four years of absence. The Gers only managed a third-place league finish in their returning campaign whereas, the Hoops maintained an ‘invincible’domestic status to conquer the ‘treble’ under newly appointed mentor Brendan Rodgers. The former Liverpool boss is close to repeating the same this season too, however, has not been able to remain unbeaten domestically. The Light Blues, currently placed second in the league tally, are only six points behind the Bhoys (having played a game more than the reigning champions) and have shown promises to close the gap with their age-old rivals.
Rangers, under Graeme Murty, have responded well since the dismissal of Pedro Caixinha and are on a six-game winning streak since their home defeat against Hibernian. Their winter transfer business has been quite congruous to their strategic display and the Gers are finally hoping for a favourable outcome on Sunday afternoon’s Old-Firm derby at Ibrox. The exhilarating derby clash between these two Glasgow giants has thoroughly been dominated by Celtic in recent years, but the hosts have a great opportunity this weekend to bring back the thrills and spills of this epic encounter.
Their previous meeting ended scorelessly at Celtic Park where Murty’s men delivered a lion-hearted display defying the odds. Although the Hoops are a far better side and the Light Blues still need time to match their standards, Rangers’ recent resurgence indicates a move in the right direction that has galvanized the supporters after a series of hapless surrenders.
Team News:
Rangers FC:
Rangers are set to miss out several first-team regulars due to injury concerns. Veteran midfielder Graham Dorrans is set to miss out with an ankle strain whereas Ryan Jack is ruled out for the season following his knee injury. Young duo Ross McCrorie and Jordan Rossiter are still out injured but the Gers are set to have a massive boost as in-form Jamie Murphy, Declan John and Lee Wallace are likely to be fit ahead of the derby day.
Celtic FC:
Celtic, too, have a few significant injury absentees ahead of the Rangers clash. Custodian Craig Gordon is out for a few months following his MCL injury whereas winger Jonny Hayes is ruled out for the season with a broken leg. Nir Bitton is out too with a knee injury so are Dedryck Boyata, Leigh Griffiths and Stuart Armstrong who are unlikely to be fit for the weekend outing. Right-back Mikael Lustig is ruled out of the clash too following his marching order that he received against Aberdeen in the previous Premiership tie.
Predicted Lineups
Rangers FC (4-2-3-1)
Wes Foderingham; James Tavernier, Bruno Alves, Russell Martin, Declan John; Jason Holt, Sean Goss; Daniel Candeias, Josh Windass, Jamie Murphy; Alfredo Morelos.
Celtic FC (4-2-3-1)
Dorus De Vries; Marvin Compper, Jozo Simunovic, Kristoffer Ajer, Kieran Tierney; Scott Brown, Olivier Ntcham; James Forrest, Tom Rogic, Scott Sinclair; Moussa Dembele.
Key Players
Rangers FC
All eyes will once again be on the in-form attacker Josh Windass, as Graeme Murty will hope for another match-winning performance from him against their bitter rivals. Sean Goss will also be under scrutiny in what will be his first “Old Firm” derby match.
Celtic FC
A host of players will be under the watch including the likes of Scott Brown, Kieran Tierney and Moussa Dembele. The French striker has been unable to carry over his immaculate form from the last term and will be looking to make a welcome change to that with a few goals against the Bluenoses.
Odds:
Rangers – 5/2
Draw – 13/5
Celtic – 1/1
