Rangers suffer another blow ahead of Celtic game

A Glasgow Derby between Celtic and the Rangers is always very important, and even more so when there are title implications. That will be exactly the case when the two sides face each other at Parkhead next month in the Scottish Premiership. Both have won twice against each other this season and this will be the rubber match. But a lot more will be riding on this game than just pride.

Celtic have a 3 point lead over the Rangers despite having a game in hand, which is against Ross County away at Victoria Park. That will be a tricky contest for Ange Postecoglou’s side as well as The Staggies have not lost a single game at home since they lost against the Hoops last December.

No matter how that game goes, Celtic will have a lead to protect at Parkhead against the Rangers, whether that be 6, 4 or 3 points. And after how the Scottish Cup semi-final went, they will know that they will need to be at the top of their game.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side have been handed another blow heading into the Parkhead fixture though. Leon Balogun was sent off in the game against Motherwell, meaning that he will not be available for selection against Celtic.

Rangers handed yet another blow heading into Celtic game

Alfredo Morelos is already out for the season, while the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Kemar Roofe are expected to miss the game against Celtic through injury. And now, the name of Balogun has been added to the list.

Balogun is a player that the Rangers have certainly relied upon through the course of the season. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has made 33 appearances across all competitions this season and played 2330 minutes of football.

Celtic cannot spend too much time looking at what is going on at Ibrox though. The fact of the matter is that they got outplayed by a side at Hampden Park that was coming off of playing 120 minutes in the Europa League in midweek against SC Braga.

Thus, the Hoops need to be at the top of their games this time around if they are to get a result against the Rangers. They will have the home advantage on this occasion. A win would be a huge result while a draw would be satisfactory as well. A loss could turn the momentum in the favour of Van Bronckhorst’s side though and must be avoided at all costs.