Celtic travel to face Rangers at Ibrox this weekend in a match with sizeable ramifications regarding the Scottish Premiership title race.
Brendan Rodgers’ men head to Govan knowing a victory will put them four clear at the top of the table; however, their rivals do have a game in hand against Dundee, which is scheduled to be played the following Wednesday.
In the event of a draw, Rangers could overtake Celtic by defeating Tony Docherty’s men; however, we will still have a chance to take them on at Parkhead in the post-split fixtures.
Losing wouldn’t put the Bhoys in an advantageous situation; regardless, this group of players are a determined bunch, which can hopefully count for something at lunchtime on Sunday.
Luis Palma has joined Callum McGregor on the road to recovery, and both players look likely to make it in time for our showdown at Ibrox, coming as a major boost in a chaotic week of derby build-up.
John Beaton is in pole position to referee the affair; meanwhile, Nick Walsh and Frank Connor have been charged with reviewing any contentious incidents on VAR duty.
Michael Stewart on ‘real positives’ ahead of Rangers clash
The Bhoys come into this one off the back of three straight victories and 17 goals in their last five matches across all competitions, giving some cause for optimism among the wider support.
Pundit Michael Stewart believes the return of key men factors in among the ‘real positives’ at Parkhead; nevertheless, he has warned Rodgers’ side that they must be clinical to take anything at Ibrox.
He stated [BBC Sport]: “It is a huge game. The positive for Celtic going into it is the fact they’ve had two of their main players coming back in and doing well.
“Carter-Vickers is such a calming influence at the back. And Hatate comes in; he’s been out for such a long period of time, yet he’s come back in and been a really good performer in the centre of the park [against Livingston].
“It’s real positives that their big players are coming back. Their one concern would be that against Livingston they got into some really good areas out wide but the final ball wasn’t there.
“They’re going to have to be more clinical in those areas against Rangers. If they get into those positions, they’re going to have to be more clinical than that.”
Celtic do need to take their chances against Rangers
Not to state the obvious, but Celtic need to be clinical on Sunday when opportunities do present themselves.
Luckily for us, Kyogo Furuhashi seems to turn up on derby day, evidenced by his two decisive goals in our previous meetings with Rangers this term.
This weekend, we need to see more of the same, as split-second moments usually decide these types of games where there is so much at stake.
Should we do that, there is every chance that Rodgers’ men take an enormous step in their hunt to claim the Scottish Premiership title.