Aiming to take a significant step towards a third straight Scottish Premiership crown, Celtic will welcome arch rivals Rangers to Celtic Park for an Old Firm derby clash on Saturday afternoon.
The Bhoys are in pole position to retain the Scottish crown for another season, whilst the Gers will feel this weekend is the final realistic opportunity to close the gap to their Glasgow neighbours.
Match preview
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Since the post-season split in the middle of April, title holders Celtic have recorded back-to-back wins in the Championship Group in order to boost their chances of recording a third successive Premiership crown and the first following the return of Brendan Rodgers as manager last summer.
Although Hearts are set to be crowned as the best of the rest in Scotland's top flight, they were simply no match for the Bhoys last Saturday, when Kyogo Furuhashi brace and a second-half brace from goalscoring midfielder Matt O'Riley secured a 3-0 success for the hosts at Parkhead.
Heading into the final three matches of the Premiership term, Celtic are currently sitting pretty in first place, three points ahead of second-placed Rangers, with matches against the Gers, Kilmarnock and St Mirren to come before an Old Firm Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park on May 25.
Since the beginning of March, the Bhoys' record at Celtic Park has been worthy of the Premiership title, with Saturday's hosts winning all three league matches at their Glasgow base by an aggregate score of 9-1, leaving St Johnstone, St Mirren and Hearts all in their wake.
With Celtic aiming to secure the services of Norwich City loanee Adam Idah on a permanent deal in the summer, there is an emphasis on the Hoops improving their striking ranks following a 2023-24 term in which midfielder O'Riley currently leads the Golden Boot race with 14 Premiership goals.
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Following a damaging three-game winless run prior to the post-season split - collecting just two points during that period - Rangers have managed to get their title challenge back on track over the past fortnight, winning 2-1 at St Mirren before thrashing Kilmarnock 4-1 seven days later.
The Gers looked on course for a fatal defeat in terms of their Premiership dreams when Killie raced into the lead at Ibrox courtesy of a James Tavernier own goal, but strikes from Fabio Silva, Ben Davies, Tom Lawrence and John Souttar ensured a relatively comfortable afternoon in the end for the hosts.
With Celtic, surprise package Dundee and Hearts left to come in this top-flight campaign, Philippe Clement's side know that defeat at Parkhead on Saturday would see them fall to six points behind the Bhoys with only two fixtures remaining, effectively ending Rangers' title ambitions.
Despite Rodgers's side having major injury issues throughout the season, Rangers have been unbeaten to best Celtic on any of the three occasions the two sides have clashed so far this term, with Saturday's visitors failing to win at Celtic Park during their last four attempts.
Team News
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Celtic almost have a clean bill of health ahead of the penultimate Old Firm derby of the campaign, with only James McCarthy (hamstring) taking up a spot in the medical room.
Impressing massively since returning from an Achilles injury, Callum McGregor will start alongside leading marksman O'Riley and Reo Hatate in the engine room.
There is a serious brewing based on who should play on the flanks for the Bhoys in this one, with Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn fighting James Forrest for a spot alongside Daizen Maeda and Furuhashi in the hosts' forward line.
After netting a dramatic 86th-minute equaliser off the bench versus Celtic in the reverse fixture last month, Abdallah Sima will be unable to repeat the trick on Saturday due to a hamstring injury.
The Gers are also light of options in their backline, with centre-back Connor Goldson sidelined for the remainder of the campaign due to a knee issue.
Following his replacement at half time during the win over Kilmarnock, Leon Balogun could drop out of the XI to make room for former Sheffield United man Ben Davies.
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; O'Riley, McGregor, Hatate; Maeda, Kuhn, Furuhashi
Rangers possible starting lineup:
Butland; Tavernier, Davies, Souttar, Barisic; Diomande, Lundstram, Sterling, Lawrence, Silva; Dessers
We say: Celtic 2-1 Rangers
With essentially a full first-team squad to select from for the first time in the Old Firm derby this season, Celtic should be confident of taking a massive leap towards retaining their Premiership crown.
The onus is on Rangers to beat their arch rivals at Parkhead to keep their title dreams alive, but we feel that the Gers will fall short this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
