Celtic’s injuries this season have been well documented. It’s been a struggle for Brendan Rodgers to get his best team on the pitch for large chunks of the campaign.
Consistency has taken a hit as a result – there was no dominant run of wins to truly finish off Rangers after their own issues in the early part of the season.
Thankfully, Celtic have shown their class in the derby meetings with two wins and a draw. The Bhoys now sit on the precipice of a third consecutive Scottish Premiership title win.
Saturday’s match at home to the Ibrox side is a huge moment. It’s often hard to predict the outcome of these games but most observers have Celtic down as favourites.
For Chris Sutton, the reason for that is simple. Rodgers will be able to name his strongest midfield for the first time in this fixture since returning as boss.
Celtic trio will make team ‘a different animal’ vs Rangers
The former Bhoys striker said [Daily Record]: “Callum McGregor. Matt O’Riley. Reo Hatate. It’s going to take more than three players for Celtic to get the job done against Rangers. But, if the trio fire, the title will belong to Brendan Rodgers.
“Celtic have been patchy this season, no question. But it is striking that McGregor, O’Riley and Hatate have barely started any games together. If they have, they’ve not always been at full pelt due to returning from injury lay-offs. Statistics are not always my strongest suit, but going through the lists, I can see that Celtic’s best midfield trio have started just six Premiership games together out of the 35 played this season.
“Rodgers’ team has won the lot. Against Livingston, Motherwell, Kilmarnock and Hearts last autumn and Dundee and Hearts again in the past fortnight. I’d argue the two displays against Hearts in that sequence were amongst the best of the season and it is obvious that Celtic are a different animal when these boys are working in unison.
“Injuries happen. It’s part of the game. But I’m pretty certain that, if a fully tuned-up McGregor, O’Riley and Hatate had been able to start together for even half of the Premiership matches so far, Celtic would have the title in the bag. It didn’t happen, so, as it stands, it is still on the line. But McGregor, O’Riley and Hatate have the opportunity to put it to bed now. And I suspect it’ll take a big Rangers display to stop them.”
Bhoys must relish favourites tag
Yes, the momentum feels like it is with Celtic heading into the derby this time, in contrast to the other meetings this season when there was a different narrative in the build-up.
Some Celtic fans will be wary of that favourites tag – it can lead to complacency and over-confidence. But this Bhoys team have shown time and again that they can take the pressure on their shoulders.
With the club’s best players on the field and 60,000 fans roaring the team on, Sutton is right – Celtic will be very hard to stop. We’re in for a cracker this weekend.