And so, it all comes down to this for Brendan Rodgers and his team.
The Celtic manager will have nine fingers—never mind one hand—on the Premiership trophy if he can lead his team to victory over Rangers on their own turf tomorrow in front of 60,000 of his own supporters.
In order to defeat Rangers on the day and all but eliminate their local rivals in their pursuit of the championship, Rodgers and his players need to accomplish the following five things.
GO ALL OUT ON THE FRONT FOOT
Ange Postecoglou’s first season in charge saw Celtic win the title with a legendary 3-0 victory, as anyone who watched that game at Celtic Park will attest to. Using 60,000 fans’ energy can be quite effective in an Old Firm match.
That evening, Rangers were completely outclassed in the first half. Given how his Celtic team concluded their most recent match against Hearts, Rodgers will be expecting that his team will again burst out of the traps on Saturday and take the stadium by storm.
: Celtic 3 Hearts 0: Kyogo and co crank up pressure on Rangers
After a taxing few weeks, the Rangers players’ confidence will be low, and an early goal might cause them to collapse.
But still…
THEY MUST AVOID EARLY DEFENSIVE LAPSES
On the other hand, they must not suffer from what occurred to Rangers in their most recent encounter at Ibrox, when a goal by Daizen Maeda just 26 seconds killed the atmosphere at Ibrox and among the home crowd.
Rangers never really bounced back until they were under 2-0 at halftime, and Celtic don’t want to waste the advantage that comes with having a stadium full of their own supporters alone.
Yet, Celtic’s recent home game against Hearts was concerning since they started a bit sluggishly and nearly lost early on. Cameron Carter-Vickers’ last-ditch stop saved Lawrence Shankland from scoring a spectacular first goal.
Therefore, Rodgers needs to instill in his players the value of not just getting off to a strong offensive start but also of maintaining a defensive mindset from the outset and making sure the Rangers don’t take the lead.
UNLEASH MAEDA ON JAMES TAVERNIER
Any concerns over Maeda’s health and suitability to start this game so soon after the hamstring injury that nearly ended his season were undoubtedly allayed by his impressive bench debut against Hearts the previous weekend.
It appeared as though Maeda “had been shot out of a cannon,” as teammate Joe Hart later remarked. His understanding of the Celtic squad’s anguish when it first seemed his campaign would be ending prematurely told you everything about Maeda’s significance to his club.
Maeda can be hit or miss with the ball, but there is no denying that he has made an impression on the Rangers captain. Over the previous few seasons, Maeda’s energy and aggressive pressing have caused Tavernier a great deal of trouble in Old Firm games.
The tone for that half of the last encounter was established by his harrying of Tavernier into the terrible mistake that gave Celtic the lead at Ibrox. If he can get out to an early lead today, Celtic Park will be packed.
Even if he can just give Celtic an hour, he has to start because his name on the teamsheet could terrify Tavernier.
START JAMES FORREST
On the other side, if one considers recent form, it is obvious who should receive the nod. After manager Rodgers forgot to use him, Forrest has suddenly returned to show Celtic what they have been missing.
Rodgers’s stay in Celtic Siberia is even more mysterious given his form since coming off the bench against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup semi-final, but it finally seems he is confident he can still have a significant impact.
Forrest is well known for his professionalism and appears to be in peak physical shape for many years. He finds pockets of space and causes havoc for opposing defences as he drifts around the front line, and his passing, acuity, and cunning have been a major factor in Celtic’s recent performance surge.
Read more news on https://sportupdates.co.uk/
Leave a Reply