Five talking points as Celtic hosts Rangers in Old Firm
Celtic hosts Rangers in the final Scottish Premiership game of 2023, and the Old Firm, as usual, is shaping up to be one of the games of the season, with both sides in the hunt for title glory.
Both sides have positives and negatives to contend with going in to Saturday’s match at Celtic Park, and here are some of the talking points surrounding this combustible encounter.
Bench boost for Celtic?
Liel Abada and Reo Hatate look likely to be among the Celtic substitutes, returning to training after significant lay-offs. Winger Abada last featured in Celtic’s 1-0 Ibrox win on 3 September before suffering a thigh injury while training with Israel, and Japan midfielder Hatate has been out for two months with a hamstring problem. The influential pair has scored five goals in this fixture in the past two seasons.
Big miss at the back for the champion
Cameron Carter-Vickers will miss out with a tight hamstring in a major blow for Celtic. The United States international has been the rock at the back for the past two-and-a-half years but Brendan Rodgers’ side won at Ibrox without him in September. That match saw Liam Scales establish himself almost instantly as a Celtic player and he never looked back. Gustaf Lagerbielke had a less convincing part in the win, benefiting from a VAR decision to disallow a Kemar Roofe goal after he lost the ball. The Swede has only started three games since and is likely to be overlooked for Stephen Welsh, who has never been on the winning side in six appearances against Rangers.
Silver lining among Rangers injury crisis?
Philippe Clement has been frustrated and by his squad’s injury problems since taking over from Michael Beale in October. First-choice centre-back Connor Goldson limped off close to the end of the Christmas Eve win over Motherwell at Fir Park with a groin injury, adding to a list which included Nico Raskin, Tom Lawrence, Ryan Jack, Borna Barisic, Ben Davies, John Lundstram, Jose Cifuentes, Kemar Roofe and Danilo. Clement has revealed, however, that Goldson trained and will be assessed ahead of the game, while a couple of other players could return, but not striker Roofe or Danilo. A fit Goldson would go a long way to increasing the visitors’ chances of a positive result.
No Rangers fans at Celtic Park
As a result of an ongoing ticket allocation dispute between the Glasgow giants, there will be no Gers supporters inside Celtic Park. Clement, looking forward to his first Old Firm game, described the situation as a “pity for football.” Celtic went to Ibrox in September without any backing and won 1-0 but it will arguably be the stiffest test yet for Clement, who is unbeaten in his first 16 games.
Who is best set for victory?
Rangers are five points behind the Scottish Premiership leader with two games in hand. The Light Blues, while not always playing sparkling football, have found a way to win under Clement and have already won the Viaplay Cup and reached the UEFA Europa League Round of 16. After successive league defeats to Kilmarnock and Hearts, Celtic bounced back to beat Livingston and Dundee. A draw would not be the worst result for either side but a second Hoops victory of the season over their Old Firm rivals would signal the return of their recent superiority. A Rangers win would embolden the Light Blues, who have been playing catch-up for most of the season.
