Celtic will go into the upcoming Glasgow Derby with their nine point lead over the Rangers in tact. That is thanks to their 2-0 win away at Ross County. It was not a great performance from Ange Postecoglou’s side on the day though and they will have to be better when they come up against Michael Beale’s team.
This is a vital game in the Premiership title race and could end up determining the fate of the league for all intents and purposes. If the Rangers lose at Parkhead next weekend, it is hard to see a way back for them.
They would be twelve points behind with seven league games to go. And anything other than a win on the day would be a blow to the Rangers’ hopes to stop Celtic from repeating as champions of Scotland.
John Lundstram does not appear to believe that there is a huge gap between the two teams though. As reported by Football Scotland, the Rangers player said:
"“We’ve got to keep on fighting to try and draw back some points.“But we have to perform better than we did in the Cup Final.“The gap looked a lot bigger that day because we weren’t great and they played well. So we must put up a better showing.“If we do that you’ll see the gap probably isn’t as big as what people make it out to be.”"
Lundstram makes brave claim ahead of facing Celtic away at Parkhead
It is safe to say that Celtic have looked like the much better team of the two Glasgow giants, during the time of Postecoglou as manager of the Hoops. They have pretty much dominated the tie.
Some of the recent results that they have gotten at Parkhead have been tremendous. And they surely will be looking to repeat that when they welcome the Rangers to their backyard. On the other hand, Beale’s side need to win.
This makes for a very interesting game of football, as if the Glasgow Derby needed the stakes to be raised even further. Celtic looked like the much better team when they two sides met last in the final of the Scottish League Cup. Let’s see how much things have changed since then.