As with every Old Firm game, you never know how this one will go
THE bookies, most pundits and even some Rangers fans believe there’s only one possible outcome in today’s Old Firm clash.
One look at the Celtic teamsheet would be enough to make the visiting management and players wonder how they are going to leave Parkhead with anything other than a defeat.
But I’ve been involved in enough of these games, both on the pitch and in the dug-out, to know anything can happen.
Yes, Celtic are in fine form right now. From Scott Sinclair to Moussa Dembele, Kieran Tierney to Patrick Roberts and Mikael Lustig to Stuart Armstrong. Oh, and you can throw in Scott Brown and Leigh Griffiths.
Every one of them is a potential matchwinner.
When it comes to scoring against Rangers, Dembele clearly knows his way to goal, with five strikes in this season’s previous three meetings.
He thrives on helping his side beat their fiercest rivals, and I’ve no doubt he’ll fancy himself to get on the scoresheet again today.
It all sounds ominous for Rangers – but you never know.
There’s pride at stake for them, and the chance to become the club that ends Celtic’s unbeaten run under Brendan Rodgers.
That should be all the motivation they require.
What they must not do is concentrate on one player. They’d be setting themselves up for a fall if they paid special attention to Dembele or Sinclair. That would allow other Celtic players to take the game by the scruff of the neck and punish them.
Rangers must come up with a plan to be solid at the back, and go there with the mentality that they can achieve a clean sheet.
They do look vulnerable and nervous when they have to defend.
Clint Hill is solid and dependable, but he can’t do it on his own.
When they are in possession and moving the ball around, Rangers are pleasant on the eye. But they have problems when they are on the back foot.
Celtic will, most likely, dominate possession and they will spread the ball all over the park at a great pace. This will tire Rangers, but the visitors must keep their shape and their discipline.
Brown and his team-mates have more power, and the lack of physicality in the middle of the park will be a concern for the Ibrox club. They need more power in there, and that’s something that has to be addressed for the new season.
However, in the here and now, anything can happen in this game.
A Celtic player could commit a silly challenge in the early stages and receive his marching orders.
Wes Foderingham might have the game of his life.
At the other end, Kenny Miller will pose a threat, as he did when he scored in the last Old Firm game. Indeed, he probably should have equalised in the closing minutes in that Hogmanay fixture to snatch a draw.
But would a draw have been a fair reflection on the play? Remember, Celtic hit the woodwork twice.
Celtic find themselves 33 points ahead of Rangers after 27 league games.
Brendan and his players have had an exceptional campaign, and they will want the gap to be 36 points by full-time to hammer home their club’s superiority.
Any glimmer of hope from this game will give Rangers confidence going into next month’s Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.
The corresponding fixture last season saw Rangers, then in a division below Ronny Deila’s side, win on penalty-kicks.
That victory, however, gave them false and unrealistic hope. The level of expectation after that victory wasn’t in sync with reality.
Rangers need more time to rebuild. It was always going to be a long road back, and this season was about qualifying for Europe.
That said, to be 33 points behind their greatest rivals isn’t acceptable.
The fact they are relying so heavily every week on 37-year-old Miller to come up with the goods tells its own story.
It’s time for a few more players to shoulder extra responsibility.
Miller will definitely start today, and his experience and big-game mentality will be vital.
All the evidence points to a Celtic victory, and there is a lack of compelling evidence to suggest Rangers will leave Glasgow’s East End with a win.
For that to happen, they will need to play much better than they did in their last visit to Parkhead – when they lost 5-1 back in September – and they’ll also require a wee bit more luck than is normally required.
As ever, I will watch with anticipation of it being a memorable game for all the right reasons.
Rangers look nervous when they have to defend, and Celtic will want to hammer home their superiority