Rangers host Celtic on Monday afternoon knowing that a defeat would all but end their title hopes by allowing Ange Postecoglou’s side to pull 12 points clear at the top of the cinch Premiership table.
Conversely, a victory for Michael Beale’s men would reignite hopes of denying the champions back-to-back titles by cutting the gap to six points at the campaign’s midway stage.
Postecoglou’s team secured a comprehensive 4-0 win over their rivals at Celtic Park in the first meeting between the two sides back in September and Beale will be hoping his side fare far better on the Englishman’s first derby in charge of Rangers.
Here are three key battles that could decide where Monday’s match is won and lost.
Borna Barisic v Liel Abada
Rangers’ left-back only made his return to the starting line-up in Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Motherwell and the 30-year-old showed what his side have been missing in his absence by registering two assists. Adam Devine had deputised admirably in Barisic’s stead while the Croatian was on World Cup duty in Qatar but the latter was always going to regain his place in Beale’s starting XI once he returned to the fold.
The Rangers manager wants his full-backs to be more offensively-minded than his predecessor – something that should get the most out of Barisic’s obvious attacking talents – but that could be easier said than done against Celtic.
Barisic is likely to be up against Liel Abada on the flank and it should prove to be a fascinating battle. Rangers’ full-back will be keen to push forward and drag Abada away from dangerous positions; Abada, meanwhile, will look to stay high and wide and exploit any space he can sniff out in between Barisic and the left centre-half. The Israeli has a knack of being in the right place at the right time and Barisic will need to be constantly alert to the threat posed by the winger.
John Lundstram v Matt O’Riley
This should be another area that will have a huge say on the final result in Govan. Lundstram acts as one of two defensive lynchpins in Beale’s midfield, sweeping up attacking forays through the middle and nipping opposition counter-attacks in the bud. He is still expected to contribute going forward and carefully recycle possession – something that is easier said than done in the face of Celtic’s intense pressing.
O’Riley will likely be a member of the chasing pack. The Denmark Under-21 internationalist is industrious off the ball and dangerous on it. Much of Celtic’s best attacking play arrives when the midfielder is in an advanced position, threading neat passes in and around the box to unlock the opposition’s defence.
Getting O’Riley forward and involved will be key for Postecoglou’s side; if Lundstram can negate that threat by getting tight to his man and not giving him an inch, he will give his side an excellent chance of securing a result. If he cannot, O’Riley possesses enough technical quality to really hurt Rangers.
Malik Tillman v Greg Taylor
The USA internationalist has largely impressed since arriving in Govan on loan from Bayern Munich and appears to be a neat fit for Beale’s preferred style of play. His quick feet, pace and excellent balance make the 20-year-old a tricky opponent in tight areas, and his two quick-fire assists against Hibernian as Rangers returned from the World Cup break showed Tillman is capable of turning a game on its head.
Having said that, the attacking midfielder won’t have everything go his way. Taylor is enjoying an excellent season at left-back for Celtic and has arguably produced the best form of his career this term. Perhaps the biggest success story of Postecoglou and his coaching staff, the Scotland internationalist has come on leaps and bounds since the Greek-Australian took the reins at Parkhead a year and a half ago.
Taylor has impressed in the left-sided inverted full-back role but the 25-year-old can be vulnerable in transition. Tillman has enough pace to exploit this frailty and doing so could prove fruitful over the course of the 90 minutes; if Taylor can stay wary, though, and keep Tillman quiet, he will do his side’s chances of victory the world of good.
