Docherty predicts thriller at empty Parkhead

Former Rangers midfielder Greg Docherty predicts tomorrow's unique behind-closed-door Old Firm battle might just have the perfect conditions to see a rare game of football break out.

Meetings between Glasgow's big two are usually not for the faint-hear ted, with meat y challenges roared on as loudly as goals amid the frenzy of a powder-keg atmosphere.

But it will be a significantly different occasion tomorrow as Steven Gerrard takes his side across the city to face Neil Lennon's champions for the first time this season at Celtic Park.

Covid -19 restrictions mean the clash will be played in front of an empty stadium and while Celtic maybe hunting down 10- in-a-row, Doc her ty reckons football will be the real winner this weekend as he forecasts an end-to-end classic encounter.

Doc her ty-who joined Hull earlier this summer - said: "It will be so weird for the players walking out of the tunnel to be met with silence. Usually as you run out you get hit by this wall of colour and noise.

"It's going to be a totally different derby experience, even if a lot of the guys will be now getting used to playing without fans. But I think it could end up being a really high-scoring affair -it could end up looking like a basketball game.

"When Rangers go to Celtic Park, their fans are normally out numbered eight to one but I don' t think you'll see one team being forced to sit back while the other dominates because Celtic are at home. I think instead you'll see a game that' send to end, where both teams just go at each other.

"In the Old Firms I played in, the first five or 10 minutes were all about the first tackle and trying to win your battles before the game eventually settled down. That stuff will still be there - you'll never lose that. But it will be different. Maybe Saturday will see a lot more football played purely because it will come down to who is the best team on the day."