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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
David Irvine

Neil Lennon backs Celtic for Ibrox triumph over Rangers in New Year derby

Neil Lennon is confident Celtic will triumph over Rangers at Ibrox in the New Year derby.

The former Parkhead boss has backed his previous club to move 12 points clear at the Scottish Premiership summit.

For Lennon, Celtic are in perfect form heading into the match with bags of confidence after a 4-0 win over Hibs.

And he reckons Kyogo Furuhashi and Matt O'Riley will find the net to earn victory over Rangers - with Alfredo Morelos tipped to score for Michael Beale's side.

"I think Celtic will win 2-1," Lennon told Football Odds. "Morelos will score for Rangers with Kyogo and O’Riley scoring for Celtic. 

Celtic handle the opposition really well and the physicality of the game too. They also score goals in bunches and handle the derbies really well.

"Ange has an excellent record in the Old Firm as well. Going into the game on the back of a 4-0 win will also give Celtic plenty of confidence.

"Celtic will look to play at a high intensity, and it is up to Michael Beale to try and stop this."

And Lennon has warned Rangers could end up in "big trouble" if they lose their discipline in the powderkeg fixture.

He added: "I think the game will be at a high tempo, and recently there has been some decent discipline.

"Players can definitely get over emotional and have disagreements with the referee and from a Rangers point of view, they will have to control themselves.

"They have to keep eleven men on the pitch or else they will end up in big trouble."

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