Celtic and Rangers face off for the last time in the league this season on Saturday, in what feels like the biggest Glasgow Derby in years for both sides.

Celtic Park will play host to the fourth of five fixtures of this kind this season, of which the home side have won two out of three. The last time the two teams met, they played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at Ibrox, which saw Celtic take the lead twice before Rangers pegged things back through Abdallah Sima and Rabbi Matondo respectively. Celtic defeated Rangers 1-0 in the first game of the season, then 2-1 in the festive fixture at Saturday’s location. They will meet one more time after this at the National Stadium, as they will compete for the Scottish Cup trophy on May 25 in the final.

Celtic know that if they can win this game then the SPFL Premiership title race is all but over for Rangers and Philippe Clement’s side. Because of this, they are not in ‘must-win’ territory, but Brendan Rodgers’ side will want to essentially finish the job this weekend. With all of that being said, how will the manager line up his side for this mammoth tie in Glasgow’s east end? The Celtic Way’s Ryan McGinlay and Tony Haggerty each have their say…

Ryan McGinlay

Huge. Massive. Gargantuan.

Whatever word you want to use to describe the upcoming match, they all check out concerning this fixture. Celtic, their players and Rodgers know what is required on Saturday, so it is up to them to manifest these dreams into reality. With essentially a clean bill of health concerning his squad, Rodgers is spoiled for choice concerning options, though he will go for the tried, tested and trusted for this fixture.

In goals, Joe Hart will continue to feature, as his outfield teammates will continue to send him off into his retirement in the best possible way. You would expect a busy day to potentially be had for the veteran keeper, though we all know he is more than capable of standing up to the task. A big performance is required from the outgoing Englishman. In the defence, it will be the usual foursome of Greg Taylor, Liam Scales, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Alistair Johnston from left to right. As much as I have called for Maik Nawrocki to feature, Scales will continue to ply his trade in the starting XI for Celtic from now until the end of the season. Expect two massive showings from Celtic’s American duo in Johnston and Carter-Vickers especially, as this pair seem to understand the assignment in this fixture.

In the midfield, there will be no doubts about the involvement of the captain, as Callum McGregor will continue to start ahead of Tomoki Iwata in the number six position. His double interception last week versus Hearts had the Celtic Park crowd on their feet, as if it was a statement of intent from the skipper that he was back to his best at long last. Elsewhere in Celtic’s engine room, reo Hatate and Matt O’Riley will be tasked with creating, providing and taking chances that come their way. In the case of the former, he has been threatening another standout performance versus Rangers for a while now, so it is time to turn that belief into a reality. For the latter, if he can replicate last week’s performance then Celtic’s greatest rivals will not be able to stop him. The game will be won – or lost – by the effectiveness of these two players.

No surprises yet again for who will lead the line for Celtic, as Kyogo Furuhashi will be trusted to be that thorn in the side of the opposition this weekend. His two goals last week will have stood him in good stead to inflict capital punishment on Rangers’ makeshift defence. Don’t be surprised if he gets another brace in as many weeks, as he seems to have caught the bug for scoring once again. He will be supported on the left by Daizen Maeda, who walks straight into the starting line-up due to his tireless energy and ability to negate James Tavernier. On the right, James Forrest simply has to play, as his form at present is too good not to include him from the off. Nicolas Kuhn has not taken his chance since being offered a few starts on the bounce, so it is time for the veteran to step into the team in his place.

This one is going to be a rollercoaster of emotions, but I cannot see past Celtic in this fixture, especially under the guidance of Rodgers. The home side to win by two or three on the day.

Ryan’s team: Hart; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; McGregor, Hatate, O’Riley; Forrest, Kyogo, Maeda

Tony Haggerty

The crunch Glasgow Derby fixture of the season has finally arrived.

Celtic know what they have to do to place one hand on the coveted Scottish Premiership trophy. A win against Rangers will put Brendan Rodgers's men within touching distance of three-in-a-row. It would arguably be the Northern Irishman's greatest-ever achievement as Celtic boss which is special considering he has won an 'Invincible' treble before.

Celtic appear to be in good shape and nobody is relishing this task more than the 51-year-old.  He lives for these moments. With 60,000 Celtic supporters roaring their heroes on and no away fans in attendance the atmosphere could play a pivotal part in swaying the contest the home side's way.

Philippe Clement's Rangers know they are drinking in the last-chance title saloon. There is very much the feeling that Celtic has been cast in the role of both the immovable object and unstoppable force as momentum is very much with the hosts going into this one. Celtic also have a clean bill of health at a critical juncture in the campaign.

With that in mind, Hart will be between the sticks as he continues his one-man crusade to bring the curtain down on his career with Premiership and Scottish Cup winners' medals. He will be ably assisted by Johnston at right-back and Taylor at left-back respectively with a central defensive pairing of Carter-Vickers and Scales.

In midfield, the tried and tested triumvirate will ride again as captain McGregor - who was excellent in the 3-0 win against Hearts - will sit alongside the ever-improving Hatate and the player of the season O'Riley. The Danish international will hope that he didn't peak too early against the Jambos last weekend and that he has at least saved another quality assist or has a goal in his locker for the powderkeg clash. O'Riley netted his first goal against Rangers at Ibrox with a nonchalant dinked penalty and he will no doubt want to add to his derby tally. 

The front three will be freshened up with the most obvious change being the return of Japanese winger Maeda. He will be deployed in the left wing and asked to perform the selfless man-marking duties on Tavernier for the good of the Celtic team. Forrest's resurgence will continue as he will feature on the right wing and there was a welcome and timely return to the goalscoring trail for Kyogo Furuhashi who notched a superb brace against the capital club last weekend. Kyogo usually saves his best for Rangers matches and the Celtic Park crowd. The No. 8 is chasing his eighth Glasgow derby goal. There is no better striker in the country when he is in this kind of mood.

Celtic to win by at least two clear goals and see off the challenge from Govan in the race for the league flag.

Tony's team: Hart; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; McGregor, Hatate, O'Riley; Forrest, Kyogo, Maeda.