Chris Sutton believes that Steven Gerrard’s Rangers side have one significant advantage over defending champions Celtic in the title race.
After dominating Scottish football for almost a decade, it looks like Celtic finally have a challenger in the form of a Rangers side under the management of Steven Gerrard. It is hard to dismiss the resurgence that the Glasgow side have made in the arrival of the Liverpool legend.
The two sides currently have the same amount of points in the Premiership and will also be taking on each other in the Scottish League Cup Final next month. And although they lost the first Old Firm Derby of the season 2-0 at Ibrox, since then Gerrard’s have looked faultless domestically, winning all but one of their games.
Naturally it is very hard to differentiate between the two sides based on the quality of their players. But former Celtic striker, Chris Sutton, believes that there is one area where Rangers have an distinct advantage over his former club.
Speaking on BT Sport ahead of Rangers’ game against Hamilton, Sutton said:
"“This is where, at the moment, they have the edge on Celtic, because if Celtic get an injury to Edouard, do they have the backup? Rangers have Defoe, who’s a phenomenal finisher. And Morelos is in the form of his life, isn’t he.”"
Jermain Defoe is a man who needs no introduction. He has found goals wherever he has been and is doing the same at Rangers even at 37 years of age.
But even a player of Defoe’s class has fallen behind the pecking order to Alfredo Morelos. The Colombian is in devastating form this season and has scored 22 goals this season already for the Teddy Bears.
And while Edouard has been spectacular as usual for The Hoops, there is not much backup in the striking department for him. Leigh Griffiths has been brilliant for Celtic in the past but there are questions over whether he is the same player anymore. On the other hand, Vakoun Issouf Bayo has yet to prove himself at the club.
But what Celtic are lacking in their striking department, they are more than making up for with their players in midfield and on the wings. James Forrest and Ryan Christie are in the form of their lives while Elyounoussi also looks like a brilliant addition. Even Scott Brown has found his scoring boots in recent weeks.
Rangers, on the other hand, do not have similar goal threat behind Defoe and Morelos. It is evident from the fact that despite having two free-scoring strikers, they have scored less goals than Celtic.