The upcoming Glasgow Derby between Celtic and the Rangers promises to be a very interesting one. Ange Postecoglou’s side currently sit at the top of the Premiership table, having won all five of their games till now. On the other hand, while Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side have dropped points in the league, they were able to make it through the qualifying stages and make it to the Champions League.
Thus, these two sides are expected to very close to each other in quality, at least on paper. The previous title race was decided by four points and there is a chance this one could be even tighter.
So, every Glasgow Derby is going to be very, very important. This one is especially for Celtic, as they have home advantage and anything other three points would be viewed as a disappointment. The Hoops need to take all six points against the Rangers at Parkhead.
The Ibrox club have been handed a massive injury blow ahead of the game though, as Tom Lawrence is set to miss out this weekend and for a few weeks. As reported by Football Scotland, Van Bronckhorst said about the situation:
"“Lawrence is not available for tomorrow, he will be out for a few weeks.”"
Rangers suffer massive injury blow before facing Celtic in the first Glasgow Derby of the 2022/23 season
Lawrence has arrived at Rangers this summer and established himself as a starter in Van Bronckhorst’s side.
According to stats from Transfermarkt, Lawrence has scored 2 goals and provided 2 assists in 5 appearances in the Scottish Premiership. He also scored a very important goal against PSV Eindhoven in the play-off round of the Champions League qualifiers.
Thus, it goes without saying that Lawrence being not available is a blow for the Rangers, heading into the first Glasgow Derby of the season.
Of course, Celtic cannot afford to pay too much attention to what is happening with the Rangers and must be ready to face their best version.