Celtic boss delivers fantastic news ahead of Glasgow Derby

Celtic passed their Dundee FC test with a 3-0 win. That means that just one game remains to be played this year and it might very well be the most important one in the 2023/24 Premiership title race. Brendan Rodgers' side will welcome the Rangers to Parkhead at the weekend in a highly-anticipated Glasgow Derby.

Based on recent form, it is the Rangers who must be considered the favourites heading into this game. Form often goes out of the window in these matches though. Instead, it often becomes more about how well a team can handle the pressure and rise to the occasion.

Celtic did so earlier in the season, with Kyogo scoring the winner at Ibrox. The fans will be hoping for more of the same this time around even though the Hoops' recent form will not fill them with confidence.

There is some good news for Celtic ahead of the Glasgow Derby though. It looks like Reo Hatate and Liel Abada could both be available on the day.

Celtic boss delivers fantastic news ahead of Glasgow Derby

As reported by Football Scotland, Rodgers said about Hatate and Abada:

"They could be around it.

"It’s one thing being ready to start, of course. Liel looked really good on the field when he trained. [with the group last night]. We kept him at home to do another session to build him up. We’ve missed his running, his goals. He’ll be brilliant for us for the second part of the season.

“Reo is at a good level, but not a level to start. We’ll see how he goes over these next few days.

"He’s training hard, working well and it will be like having two new players when we get those two back."

Both Hatate and Abada have been out injured for quite some time and the team have felt their absence for sure. Their roles in the starting XI have not really been filled since then.

The likes of Paulo Bernardo, David Turnbull and Tomoki Iwata have all gotten chances in midfield recently. But none of them have really provided the complete package that Hatate does in the middle of the park.

On the other hand, the wings have become a problem for Celtic in the absence of Abada. After a bright start to the season, he got injured. The likes of James Forrest, Mikey Johnston and Yang Hyun-jun have not really impressed though.