da bet nacional： The derby between Celtic and Rangers over the Festive period is a tradition in Scottish football that always captures the imagination. Once a definitive fixture in the league that could shift momentum and win or lose a league titles, it’s a massive occasion that comes along when Glasgow is in the midst of Christmas and New Year celebrations, heightening an already electric atmosphere.
da winzada777： This Saturday may not have the weight of those title-deciders of the past, but it’s still going to be a huge 90 minutes for both teams and both sets of supporters.
The teams’ aims will be the same, but expectations different. While Rangers will of course be playing to win, they go into this match as underdogs, facing a Celtic side that have only lost one domestic fixture since May 2016.
Celtic are hoping to re-assert their dominance over their city rivals and move further ahead in the league table, also needing to win to keep Aberdeen at arms length in second place.
How will this one be decided?
These are the THREE key battles that will settle the outcome…
Kristoffer Ajer vs Alfredo Morelos
One of the most intriguing match-ups will revolve around Celtic’s ability to defend against one of the in-form attackers in the Scottish Premiership this season.
Alfredo Morelos has scored 12 goals for the Light Blues so far this term and after a barren spell of 10 matches without finding the back of the net, he’s found his scoring touch again recently, netting four goals in his last five appearances.
That tally is more than both Leigh Griffiths and Moussa Dembele, highlighting Morelos’ importance to Rangers and if they’re to get anything from the game on Saturday he will likely be at the heart of it.
In his way will be young Kristoffer Ajer and likely defensive partner Dedryck Boyata. The Norwegian teenager has brought a calmness and composure to an under fire defensive line in recent matches, helping them to clean sheets in his last three, and has likely done enough to earn a starting spot in his first derby.
Saturday will be one of his toughest tests so far though and dealing with the pacy Colombian will be high on his priority list. Keep him quiet and Rangers will struggle to find goals elsewhere in the team.
James Forrest vs Declan John
James Forrest has arguably been Celtic’s player of the season so far, scoring 12 goals, providing 3 assists and generally being a nuisance for defences both domestically and in Europe. On Saturday he has the chance to end 2017 on the perfect high note with a strong performance in the derby against Rangers and if he plays to the best of his ability, the Light Blues simply might not be able to handle him.
Tasked with countering his attacking threat will likely be Declan John, whose successful loan spell at Rangers was recently made into a permanent one after impressive form for the Ibrox side.
Though primarily a left-back, his strengths lie in attack and it’ll be an interesting tug of war on that flank as both John and Forrest will be tasked with injecting pace and width into the final third, while defending against oncoming attacks and counters.
Can the Welsh defender offer a more disciplined performance to deal with the Forrest threat, or is the best form of defence actually attacking?
Moussa Dembele vs Bruno Alves
If Bruno Alves and Moussa Dembele are selected, both have missed matches recently, it will undoubtedly be the most intriguing battle on Saturday.
It’s the classic clash of youth vs experience as the decorated Portuguese legend goes up against one of the up and coming names in European football.
Dembele was the scourge of Rangers last season, scoring five goals against the Ibrox side before 2017 ended, but hasn’t scored against them since the Hogmanay fixture at this stage 12 months ago. He’s a big game player and will want to make his mark on Saturday, but in his way is a seasoned competitor who, while not at his peak, still has plenty of experience against elite attackers.
The Alves move to Rangers may not have been the wild success so far that supporters hoped for but he will surely be determined to put in a strong performance against Celtic, having missed out on the first derby match this season.
Can the Euro 2016 winner keep a young hotshot quiet, or will Dembele’s power and pace show that Alves is coming the end of his playing career?