Now that the win over Livingston has been done and dusted, full focus for Celtic now shifts to preparing for the Rangers game at Ibrox on Sunday.
John Kennedy has admitted already that the Celtic dressing room is the ‘calmest place in Scotland‘ despite this now being the biggest game of the season.
Yesterday’s 3-0 win means that Celtic have now scored twenty goals in their last five fixtures and it is that kind of form that will leave the fans feeling fairly confident ahead of the trip to Ibrox next Sunday.
That and the fact that Reo Hatate is back in the first team fold and Cameron Carter-Vickers is also getting up to speed, Celtic are looking in great shape ahead of the top-of-the-table clash.
However, there is one piece of the puzzle that is yet to be solved for the Celtic fans. The recent injury to Callum McGregor has meant that the Celtic captain has missed the last three Scottish Premiership matches which has also left doubts on whether he will be fit for the Glasgow Derby as well.
Callum McGregor ‘improving’
John Kennedy was on media duties yesterday afternoon and when he was asked if McGregor will be fit for Ibrox, the Celtic Assistant boss remained hopeful.
Kennedy said [Scottish Football Podcast], “Hopefully. Hopefully, again, we’ll see how he goes during the week. He’s not trained as yet but he’s improving.
“So we’ll just kind of take each day as it comes along the way and see what it brings. But again, even having Reo back today and Cameron back and 90 minutes and his legs it’s coming together nicely.”
For Celtic to pull off a result at Rangers they will need their captain fit and available. That’s not to say they can’t do it without him but our chances very obviously increase with him in the side.
In the 36 games McGregor has faced Rangers, the Celtic captain has been victorious on 20 occasions, drawing five and losing just eleven. He has also scored four and created three goals in all those appearances. [Transfermarkt]
Having a midfield trio of McGregor, Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate would be a huge boost for the team who are already at a massive disadvantage with no travelling supporters to back them at Ibrox.
A win would take Celtic four points clear at the top of the table and then put massive pressure on Rangers to win their game in hand at Dundee on the 10th of April.