The fourth and last first meeting of the season between the Rangers and Celtic takes place in Ibrox this Sunday.
With the Brendan Rodgers team already confirmed as champions, there are some who would tell you that the game means nothing. We all know different, of course.
As always, there are scores to be settled and abundant subpcelles. Rodgers lost the last two derbies while Barry Ferguson surely needed to support this 3-2 victory in Parkhead in March to relaunch all luck that he has still won the post.
Here, Calum Crowe and John McGarry from Mail Sport are looking at the problems of the day.
What importance does the game for Celtic be beyond the simple taking possession of brackets?
Calum Crowe: Earlier this week, Cameron Carter-Vickers said that Celtic had nothing to prove in this game. But I do not agree with that. In four games against the Rangers this season, Celtic won once in 90 minutes. Keeping in mind that the Rangers were a mess for much of the season. Celtic lost in the Rangers at a time when Philippe Clement was only a few weeks old to be dismissed, then again to a team led by Barry Ferguson. They must set the record straight and assert their domination as champions.
Maeda and Tavernier are likely to recover again
While the Celtic singer supported his central role this term, he can return to a large position
John McGarry: After consecutive losses against the Rangers, Celtic needs a victory that kills any suggestion that their domination of the match could end. Brendan Rodgers lost only once against the Ibrox side in his first 20 derbies. If this statistic becomes four in 23, his team seems more vulnerable in the next season.
What went wrong for Celtic in these last two derbies? What should be different if they want to get a victory this time?
CC: More than anything, I think they were guilty of convenience. Too many great players have not appeared. Celtic just looked frank and devoid of ideas. They scored 15 goals in their last three games as they head to Ibrox. They should try to put themselves on the foot before and punish a defense of the rangers who has disclosed many goals under Ferguson.
JM: They did not impose themselves in the matches and were too easily opened. You could extend it to the League Cup final they won under penalties. They lost three goals that day, conceded the same number in Ibrox and Parkhead in March. Unless they are tightening, they will lose again.
How do you see Rodgers aligning defensively and will there be implications in the future for those who are omitted?
CC: Liam Scales started the last three games and it seems that Auston Trusty has now lost his place. Trusty has not started from the 1-0 defeat of the League in St Johnstone a few weeks ago. Scales is a reliable operator and he knows what it takes to go to Ibrox and get a result. Given the form of Celtic lately, I would be surprised that Rodgers chooses to drop the Irishman. Trusty will probably have to sit down and watch from the key line. I also expect Greg Taylor to keep his place in front of Jeffrey Schlupp.
JM: Scales arrived as a Celtic player after being thrown in Ibrox at the start of last season. He should play on merit. If it goes by unscathed, it is a long path for 6 million pounds sterling. Schlupp also deposited from the moment he suggested that he could be open to interviews under contract. Another day spent on the bench would suggest that they will not take place.
With Jota now injured, with whom will the Rodgers accompany in the three avant-garde positions?
CC: I expect a three of Daizen Maeda on the left, Adam Idah as a central attacking, and Nicolas Kuhn operating from the right. Maeda was a machine for Celtic this season and, for me, should win the player of the year. But given the nightmares he causes for James Tavernier in the games of old companies, I think that Celtic will ask him to play the left rather than the middle.
JM: It looks like a big day for Idah. For all that he scored twice against the Rangers last season, none of his 18 goals, this quarter was against the great rivals of Celtic. And he does not have his criticisms to seek. Maeda is nailed to play on the left. Kuhn also seems to have played his way with a collapse.
Ferguson famous after having guided the rangers towards the victory at Celtic Park in March
If Barry Ferguson was to win a second consecutive victory on Celtic, do you see a real prospect of offering him full-time work beyond summer?
CC: I don’t see that it happens. Ferguson spoke last week of the way he supported himself in the long term and how he “improved the club” if he obtained the post. But I said regularly in recent weeks that it should really be a non-starter. If the Rangers must start over in summer in summer under a new property, they need a manager with experience and a proven operator. Ferguson does not have the references as a manager. If he wins Sunday, he can leave with his head high.
JM: He still hasn’t won a home match in four attempts. One day in the sun should be seen for what it is. It is hardly Ferguson’s fault that he was asked to take care of a team to whom one cannot trust to present ourselves from one week to another. However, there is little evidence that he is the man with the Midas touch.
Rodgers has already guided Celtic to a double of the League and the League this season
The league is over and Celtic walks towards another triple. From the point of view of the Rangers, what does this game mean in the great scheme of things?
CC: In a word, pride. It is a chance to claim a second successive victory over Celtic and end the season on a positive note. Would that take the misery of what was another season of failure in the league? No, of course not. But that would allow the club to finish the countryside in a certain pride and offer a certain positivity before what will be a huge summer out of the field.
JM: Despite the fact that they were major staff changes this summer, a third successive victory over Celtic would give those who remain the field to believe that next season could be another story. Eradicating these slippages against the Flotsam and the Jetsam would be the next task.
What are the key men for the Rangers?
CC: Nico Raskin was their best player this season with Vaclav Cerny. If these two can intensify and have another big game on Sunday, it would lead the Rangers to obtain a result to obtain a result.
JM: No player in the story of the match has suffered more defeats than James Tavernier. For the light blue legions, his jousts with Maeda were better looked at behind the sofa. A dominant display of English would set the right tone.
Ferguson has largely disappeared with three in the back in the last month. Do you see that you are continuing and what are the main selection calls it faces?
CC: Yeah, I expect the three backs to continue. Robin Propper took a hit during the 2-2 draw in St Mirren last week. Although I do not consider him a particularly strong defender, the lack of options and experience behind him would be a concern. If it is in good shape, it will be a return of three of Propper, John Souttar and Clinton Nsiala, with Tavenier and Jefte like the wings. I think we will see Raskin and Connor Barron in the midfield, Diomande and Cerny playing just behind the Dessers.
Raskin exceeds Schlupp to mark the opener in the last derby between the sides
JM: My intuition is that a lack of options will force him to change shape. Without Léon Balogun, Dujon Sterling, Ridvan Yilmaz and Propper Tiling, I can consider a 4-5-1 with Tavernier and Jefte on each side of John Souttar and Clinton Nsiala.
Cerny, Barron, Raskin, Diomande and Ianis Hagi playing behind descenders.
How do you see it going?
CC: There is no doubt that Ferguson will make the Rangers light. They will look for a last challenge show in an otherwise bad season. But I expect Celtic to turn on the style and be too strong. They underwent in the matches of the former company this season, but I do not see it continuing this weekend. These are champions, they score goals to have fun right now, and they will want to end up with a fulfillment.
JM: The fact that there are final places of the Scottish Cup on the line for visitors seems important. Too many Ferguson players already seem to have come out. Even if they come together, they look at options. Celtic prevails by the strange objective in three.
