Five things Celtic must do to down Rangers and extend lead

THE MUSIC around Celtic has picked up in the last week or two, and with the vital encounter against Rangers approaching tomorrow afternoon, it couldn’t have come at a better moment.

The champions have won their previous two games, have kept two clean sheets, and have kept Rangers five points behind them – albeit with two games in hand – coming into what might be a vital encounter in the title battle.

Kyogo Furuhashi is back in goal, the Green Brigade are back in the stadium, and a win would undoubtedly put Brendan Rodgers back in the good graces of even his harshest critics.

Here are five things his Celtic squad must accomplish to earn their second victory of the season against their city rivals.

Daizen Maeda should be on the left, while Luis Palma should be on the right.

While Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has hinted that Liel Abada could return for this game, it would be a bold move to put him in the starting lineup after such a long absence.

Despite Mikey Johnston’s two goals at Dens Park on Boxing Day, Rodgers is far more likely to put Maeda and Palma in wide areas from the outset. The only real question is which side he chooses to use them on.

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Rodgers’ employment of such a formation has been sporadic, to say the least, but Maeda and Palma combined for the latter’s astonishing goal against Atletico Madrid while playing in these places, demonstrating that they are more than capable of causing issues for any opponent if used in this manner.

Get to the byline to help Kyogo.

In keeping with the first argument, moving Palma to the right should naturally encourage him to hit the chalk and get the type of crosses into the Rangers area that Kyogo thrives on.

Yes, he set up the striker’s goal against Livingston by cutting inside and curling the ball towards the far post, but Kyogo thrives on cutbacks and the type of service that has been scarce this season.

Despite his inconsistent form this season, Kyogo maintained his hugely impressive recent record against Rangers with a stunning strike at Ibrox in early September, making it five goals in his last three games against them, and Celtic must do everything in their power to play to his strengths tomorrow.

Once again, dominate the middle.

Unless Phillipe Clement has been living under a rock like his predecessor Michael Beale, he must have noticed that Callum McGregor is a quality footballer.

The Celtic skipper was given free rein at Ibrox in the first meeting between these two sides, and it is probable that Clement will give Dujon Sterling the task of getting close to McGregor this time around as he attempts to limit his influence on proceedings.

Despite the fact that Celtic are still without Reo Hatate, who Rodgers has claimed will be unlikely to start despite returning to full training, Celtic should expect to dominate the center of the park anyway.

In that region, McGregor, the imperious Matt O’Riley, and Paolo Bernardo will most likely face Sterling, Kieran Dowell, and Todd Cantwell, and if they can dominate once more, they will have a platform to win the game.

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