Gerrard sees Morelos being a target

Steven Gerrard believes Celtic players will attempt to rile Alfredo Morelos this afternoon.

The Rangers striker has been praised by his manager for cleaning up his disciplinary act.

Morelos was sent-off five times last season and collected 19 yellow cards.

The Colombian hasn’t been redcarded this term and Gerrard would hate that to change in today’s Old Firm clash.

“We know that he will be provoked at certain times,” said Gerrard.

“He needs to keep focussing on the football and if he does, I’m sure he’ll continue to improve the record from last season.

“That’s all we ask of him – play on the edge and be who you are.

“We don’t want to take anything away from him because that’s what Alfredo is. He’s an aggressive player, he is a forward runner, he likes to play on the edge.

“We don’t want to take any of that away. But it needs to be channelled in the right way because letting your team-mates down on a stage like this isn’t helpful at all.

“He’s shown improvement all season, and certainly in a European situation because we know you won’t get away with things that you might in the SPFL.

“We’ve also played against Aberdeen twice and there were no problems. We played an Old Firm game at home, again with no problems.

“Alfredo is a player who has the X-factor and, being his manager, I know all his fans – and even the media – want to see him play football, not sitting in an early bath.

“Everyone wants to see him on the pitch because everyone loves to see him play football.”

If his disciplinary problems are behind him, one flaw remains in the striker’s game.

He hasn’t scored in 10 games against Celtic.

Gerrard doesn’t attempt to defend his record. He wants him to hit the net and put an end to his barren run.

He said: “That’s the truth, that’s the reality. He hasn’t delivered in that one fixture. This is the opportunity to put that right.

“He relies on service as well. I’m not going to be one to criticise him for that, because we have to have people around him to provide the service.

“We have done that a lot this