Celtic will be aiming to go 12 points clear when they take to the pitch at Ibrox in order to face the Rangers in the second Glasgow Derby of the campaign. The first one was not even close, as the Hoops walked out with a 4-0 win. This one is expected to be much tighter though as the opposition seems to be enjoying a new manager bounce following the appointment of Michael Beale recently.
They have won all four of their games under the management of Beale till now and if they can win this Glasgow Derby, then it would be a huge confidence booster for them.
On the other hand though, if Celtic are able to win, then it could end the title race for all intents and purposes in January itself. Thus, this is a high stakes game for sure, for both clubs.
The last thing anybody would want today is to see VAR end up playing a deciding factor and have a negative effect on the result of the match. Instead, the best thing would be to let the game flow. And as reported by The Guardian, Ange Postecoglou, who has never been a big fan of the system, said about the matter:
"“I am sure the authorities and officials are well aware of the magnitude of the game and the eyes that will be on the game. The last thing that we all want is to be standing around and watching an individual with his hand to his ear for too long. That is not what people around the world are going to be wanting to watch. If mistakes are made in terms of decisions I think we can deal with that, but ultimately what we want to see is a good game of football.”"
Celtic manager sends clear message to officials ahead of Glasgow Derby
VAR has become a hot topic of discussion amongst Celtic fans, ever since its introduction in Scottish football this season.
The expectation was that the system would end up eradicating the mistakes made by the on-field referees and bring an end to controversial decisions. That quite clearly has not been the case. On the other contrary, it has hurt the flow of the game as well.
One can only hope that VAR is not the biggest point of discussion after this Glasgow Derby because that would mean that something went horribly wrong during the match.