The title race is well and truly on in Scotland and with big games to come this festive season both Celtic and Rangers will be doing all they can to land the final jab before the winter shutdown in January.
Celtic are currently five points ahead in the Scottish Premiership, but Rangers have two league games in hand over their city rivals with the huge Old Firm derby showdown to come on December 30.
Rangers are still to take on Hibernian on January 24 and after today's postponement, they will now have to fit in a fixture against Ross County sometime in the new year too.
These two matches are part of a major 2023 hangover that Philippe Clement's side will have to play in the second half of the season in comparison to their rivals Celtic and it is fair to say that could have a big impact as the title race steamrolls into its crucial months.
With Rangers having two games in hand, Celtic have obviously played more league matches up until this point in the campaign, but it is in other competitions where Gers have endured draining fixtures.
The Govan outfit have already played four extra European qualifiers this campaign with demanding double-header matches against Servette and PSV Eindhoven sure to have taken a lot out of the team both mentally and physically.
They now also have a two-legged last-16 fixture in the Europa League to come in the new year and that could of course extend to more matches if they can navigate their way into the quarter-final stage of the tournament.
Clement’s recent Viaplay League Cup success also came at a cost in terms of fixture congestion. Victory over Aberdeen in the fiercely contested final was just one of three extra games in the competition in comparison to Celtic.
As a result of Brendan Rodgers’ side crashing out at the last 16 stage to Kilmarnock, Rangers played in the quarters, semis and final of the tournament as they ultimately went on to lift the trophy for the first time since 2011.
All the aforementioned matches are sure to have an impact on the Ibrox squad and manager Clement has already spoken about the injury nightmare that is currently tormenting his dressing room.
Connor Goldson, Borna Barisic, Ben Davies, Kemar Roofe, John Lundstram, Jose Cifuentes, Tom Lawrence, Danilo, Ryan Jack, Nico Raskin and Steven Davis are currently out with varying problems and that has given Clement numerous selection problems in recent weeks, especially in central midfield.
“We take it day by day what the situation is and what the fitness of the players is,” Clement said after Motherwell on Christmas Eve. “It’s difficult to plan in advance so I’m living from day to day.
“For me, the most pleasing thing is that despite having nine injured players, the structure stays, with two players in midfield who are not used to playing there.
“You don’t see the difference. The team is really focused and concentrated to do the job together.
"Everybody knows what we are doing, we keep clean sheets and we keep winning games by being dominant.”
Clement is right, the team have remained consistent in terms of their results and performances since he entered the building, but can the squad cope in the second-half of the season with a hectic schedule to come? It remains to be seen.
Celtic are currently top and will rightly be favourites heading into the championship rounds of the league campaign with just the Premiership and Scottish Cup to concentrate on. That will be a huge boost to Rodgers and his players in the long run and Rangers will be well aware of this upper hand across the city.
The January transfer window was always going to be key for Clement, but with a packed-out fixture list to come, there is now even more pressure on the Ibrox club to complete their business wisely and astutely come the turn of the year.
The Belgian needs to add further quality to his ranks and he needs to ensure there is a fight for places every single week to ensure squad performance remains at the highest level possible for both domestic and European matches.
Celtic face similar challenges in the January window, but Rangers must concentrate on themselves. If the club can recruit well alongside improved injury luck in the second-half of the season then they could be in for a special first season under the leadership of their Belgian manager.
