Can Rangers extend their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership? Or can the Hoops claw back some hope and save Neil Lennon's job?
Rangers v Celtic
- Saturday 12:30 GMT on Sky Sports Football
- Match odds: Home evs | Draw 13/5 | Away 5/2
In many ways, Rangers have been here before. In each of the last two seasons, Steven Gerrard’s side have taken control of the Scottish title race with a win over their fiercest rivals in the traditional New Year’s Day Old Firm Derby (rarely played on New Year’s Day itself these days).
Victory over Celtic on Saturday will once again put Rangers in a strong position.
And yet three points at Ibrox this weekend would send Gerrard and his players into new territory. While Rangers have grown accustomed to being in the title picture at the turn of the year, they have never been the clear frontrunners as they are now.
Victory against Celtic on Saturday could make them runaway champions.
Rangers currently hold a 16-point advantage at the top of the Scottish Premiership table. Celtic hold three games in-hand, which would narrow the gap significantly, but Neil Lennon’s side cannot count on winning those games in-hand given their patchy form over the course of the season so far.
Gerrard and his players have a mental barrier to clear before they can be considered champions elect. For reasons unknown, Rangers have collapsed after the winter break in each of the last two seasons.
The Ibrox side finished 2019 with a landmark away win over Celtic, their first at Celtic Park for nine years. When they returned from a mid-season training camp in Dubai, Rangers won just four of their next nine league fixtures.
Old Firm best bets: Rangers v Celtic
- Rangers win to nil - 11/4
- Under 2.5 goals - 11/12
- James Tavernier to score first - 7/1
- James Tavernier to score anytime - 11/4
It was a similar story the year previously, when Rangers finished 2018 with a derby victory only to lose to Kilmarnock in their first league game of the new year. They would go on to also drop points to St Johnstone, Hibernian and Kilmarnock again before the end of March, by which time the title race had already been conceded.
This season, though, there is a different smell about Rangers.
They are unbeaten in the Scottish Premiership and have dropped points only twice. They are unbeaten in Europe too, qualifying for the last 32 of the Europa League with a game to spare. Gerrard has instilled a winning mentality in his players. No collapse appears to be coming. Even if Celtic can lift their form, Rangers might not drop enough points to be caught.
For the time being, Celtic can only concentrate on their own performances and there has been some green shoots of progress of late. The decision to find a starting spot for David Turnbull has given life to a previously limp Celtic midfield. The 21-year-old has three goals and two assists in his last five games while Ismaila Soro has recently given the Hoops defensive structure in the centre of the pitch.
Leigh Griffiths has recently been restored to the lineup, forging an understanding with Odsonne Edouard which also looks to have reinvigorated the Frenchman. Questions remain over Celtic’s defence and their goalkeepers, with 22-year-old Conor Hazard learning on the job, but five straight wins have eased the pressure on Lennon whose position at the club looked untenable not so long ago.
Defeat on Saturday might still be the end of the road for Lennon as Celtic manager. The club’s board vowed to review the Northern Irishman’s “progress” in the new year amid a run of form that saw the Hoops win just two of 12 games.
Reading between the lines, this said Lennon had the Scottish Cup final and December’s Old Firm derby to prove he is still the right man for the job. Celtic won the Scottish Cup final, just. Now, they must beat Rangers for the sake of their manager.
Celtic’s pursuit of an historic 10th title in a row has shaped the 2020/21 season in Scotland. Even for Rangers, this campaign is about stopping their rivals reaching that landmark.
Another derby victory this weekend would see Gerrard and his players edge closer to achieving this objective. Rangers are not quite untouchable, but they could soon be uncatchable.
Odds correct at 11:28 29/12/20
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