It's the big one, as Celtic travel to Ibrox to face Rangers in the latest instalment of the Glasgow Derby.
With one point separating the pair at the top of the Scottish Premiership table, Brendan Rodgers will be hoping for his third win in a row this season against his club’s greatest rivals. Both sides come into this tie in winning form, with Rangers and Celtic easily dispatching Hibernian and Livingston respectively in their games last weekend.
The last time the two sides met, Paulo Bernardo and Kyogo Furuhashi scored two stunning goals, as the home side were the victors at Celtic Park back in December. James Tavernier pulled a goal back for the 10 men of Rangers, but the points belonged to their opponents that day. Earlier in this campaign, Kyogo again scored the vital goal in proceedings, as Celtic ran out 1-0 winners at Sunday’s location last September, with Michael Beale in charge of Rangers for that one. Phillippe Clement will be hoping to get a win on the board for his rejuvenated team, as his side chases their first title in three years.
With all of that being said, who will Rodgers elect to pick for this massive match between the two best teams in the league? The Celtic Way’s Ryan McGinlay and Tony Haggerty each have their say…
Ryan McGinlay
This feels massive.
Amid the most tightly-contested title race in years, Celtic have a huge opportunity to assert their continued dominance on the destination of the league title. They’ve done it before at Ibrox this season, so let’s keep everything crossed that they manage to do the same six months on.
Rodgers will aim to do so with all of his major players available to him from the off. Joe Hart will continue between the sticks, on what may be a busy Sunday afternoon for the veteran goalkeeper. He’s had standout performances before against the same opponents, so here’s hoping he can do the same, in what will be his last visit to Ibrox. Elsewhere in the defence, Alistair Johnston and Greg Taylor will occupy their usual spots at right and left-back respectively.
The first massive boost is that of Cameron Carter-Vickers’ fitness, who pulled through his game against Livingston on the plastic pitch with ease last Sunday. Despite Celtic winning both Glasgow Derbies without the influential defender, his inclusion on Sunday will be vitally important to the team’s effort as a whole. Liam Scales will play alongside Carter-Vickers in defence, where he will need to be at his best to end up on the winning side alongside his fellow defenders. Maik Nawrocki – if he was featuring regularly – would have been preferred to Scales, but the Irishman has the ‘yellow jersey’ at this point in time. A big performance is required.
To the midfield, and what a boost it was seeing captain Callum McGregor pictured in training. There are no ifs or buts, the skipper starts this game if he passes his fitness test, which you would expect him to do with flying colours. Alongside him will be the dynamic Reo Hatate, who retains his place in the heart of the midfield in the number eight position. No stranger to this fixture, his creativity and guile will be vital if Celtic are to emerge victorious. Sticking with creative players, Matt O’Riley will complete the midfield trinity, as he is a certain pick for this one. Tomoki Iwata can feel hard done by that he is not starting in this one, though he and Paulo Bernardo will have a part to play in the latter stages of the contest, especially against potentially tired legs. There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’, after all.
No surprises on who is going to lead the line, as Celtic’s talisman Kyogo Furuhashi will get the nod ahead of Adam Idah in the striking position. With seven goals last year against Sunday’s opponents, you cannot deny that this is now the Japan forward’s fixture of choice. If he gets a chance, put your house on him taking it when it matters. On the left, Daizen Maeda will play on his favoured side, as his offensive and defensive attributes will be required on the day. If he can stop James Tavernier, then he most likely stops Rangers, such is the importance of the English right-back. On the opposite side, Nicolas Kuhn will start over Yang Hyun-jun, due to his impressive outings over the past month or so. Whether it's Borna Barisic, Ridvan Yilmaz or even Dujon Sterling, he will fancy his chances at causing mayhem down that left-hand side.
A must-win for Celtic, regardless of what people may say about a draw being a positive result. Go for the jugular, and make sure you come out on top at the end of proceedings.
Celtic to win, but it will be close.
Ryan's team: Hart; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; McGregor, Hatate, O'Riley; Kuhn, Kyogo, Maeda
Tony Haggerty
It all comes down to this... or does it?
A title decider? Maybe. The small matter of association football in Govan between Rangers and Celtic. To the victor, the spoils, and all that. Celtic aim for their third league victory of the season over their Glasgow rivals. Will Rodgers's men complete that mission? Thrown in the sub-plot of John Beaton being named the official by the SFA, it is a mouth-watering and intriguing prospect for want of better words.
A lot is riding on the availability of skipper McGregor. If he returns to the first-team fold, then Celtic can field the best three midfielders in the country bar none. You can also add in the fact that Japanese striker Kyogo looks to be back in the mood as he goes in search of Glasgow derby goal number eight of his Celtic career. Not bad.
The stage is set for a titanic struggle on Sunday inside as the two Glasgow giants go head-to-head. The visitors know a win would see them move four points clear of their rivals and hand them the title initiative. So who will the Northern Irishman choose to go into battle for the men in green and white?
Hart as always will be in goal as the clock continues to count down on his illustrious club and country career. Johnston and Taylor will be deployed on the right and left respectively with Carter-Vickers and Scales as the central defensive pairing.
In the midfield, if McGregor proves his fitness then Iwata will be the unlucky one to miss out on such a massive occasion. If the inspirational captain is not declared fit then Iwata has proven himself to be more than an able deputy. McGregor will be joined in the engine room by the creative talents of Hatate and O'Riley. The Japanese midfielder put in a magnificent 65-minute display against Livingston and is the kind of player that Celtic have in their ranks who is capable of hurting Philippe Clement's men. O'Riley grabbed a goal for his sins last week and looked to be back to something approaching his best as he benefitted from having his old engine room partner alongside him once again. McGregor's return will see the band back together and there is real joy to be had with that trio in the starting lineup.
Up front, Maeda will occupy the left wing berth and shackle the marauding Tavernier as he will be asked to be the consummate team player and perform a selfless role that is all about blunting one of Rangers' main attacking threats. On the right will be Kuhn and his explosive pace could be a potent weapon as Celtic go to Ibrox in search of a win that could be decisive in terms of the Scottish Premiership title race. Rodgers will certainly be hoping that this is the German winger's breakout game in his short Celtic career to date. He has a pivotal role to play in any Celtic success.
Finally, attacking talisman Kyogo is the man for this occasion. He has already shown his worth by burying two long-range strikes past Butland to be the difference maker in both derbies thus far. Kyogo has not scored an away goal in the league since Celtic hammered Hearts 4-1 at Tynecastle back in October. That is something he will want to rectify. What are the odds on derby goal number eight incoming on Sunday? The Rangers defender will be more worried about Kyogo than he will be about them. The 29-year-old's goals between now and the climax of the season could tilt the title scales in Celtic's favour.
Kyogo at the double in a 2-0 Celtic triumph. You heard it here first.
Tony's team: Hart; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; McGregor, Hatate, O'Riley; Maeda, Kyogo, Kuhn.
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