The mood around Celtic Park is not expected to be great after the Hoops suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Feyenoord in their Champions League group opener. But overall, things have been positive for Brendan Rodgers’ side in recent weeks. The same cannot be said about the Rangers, who find themselves in a sticky situation.
Michael Beale’s future at Ibrox is in major doubt. His side were knocked out of Champions League qualifying on the back of a 5-1 away defeat against PSV Eindhoven. They also lost 1-0 at home to an out-of-form Celtic team and slipped four points behind them in the Premiership table as a result.
Their next game is expected to be a tough test as they take on Real Betis in the Europa League. Beale has confirmed another injury issue for the Rangers ahead of the match.
It looks like Nico Raskin is set to miss out. As reported by Glasgow Times, Beale said about the situation:
"“Nico Raskin is out with a calf problem – Raskin, Cantwell and Danilo will be missing.”"
Rangers confirm another problem as Celtic build lead
The Ibrox club already seem out of form and their injury problems will not help them. Todd Cantwell is believed to have suffered an injury late in the game against Celtic at Ibrox as well.
The likes of Raskin and Cantwell had earned a lot of plaudits from the Rangers fans last season. But they have come in for some criticism lately as the side have struggled for results. Let’s see how the Ibrox club do without them in the mix of things.
This could give a chance to Celtic to increase their lead at the top of the table, in case the Rangers slip up in the league with many key players missing at the moment. Of course, Rodgers’ side cannot afford to look towards Ibrox and have to focus on themselves.