The first Old Firm Derby of 2023 takes place at Ibrox on Monday, with arch-rivals Rangers and Celtic doing battle in the Scottish Premiership.
As we head into Matchday 20, table-topping Celtic find themselves nine point clear of second-place Rangers. Remarkably, third-place Hearts sit 17 points behind Rangers.
📸 Three Points at IbroxFull Match Gallery ⤵️— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) December 28, 2022
📸 Three Points at IbroxFull Match Gallery ⤵️
Can the Gers close the gap on their cross-city rivals? Or will the Hoops extend their lead at the summit? It’s time to take a closer look at both sides.
Let’s start with the hosts, Rangers, who have claimed four consecutive Scottish Premiership victories since the World Cup break.
After beating Hibernian (3-2), Michael Beale’s boys edged Aberdeen (3-2) and Ross County (1-0) before crushing Motherwell (3-0) last time out.
Rangers have now won 14 of their 19 league games this season, registering three draws and two losses along the way.
When you look at the bigger picture, the Gers have lost just four of their previous 55 Premiership encounters – highlighting their consistency in Scotland.
That said, Celtic boast an ever better record this season – having won 18 of their 19 league games. Their sole defeat came against St Mirren back in September.
The Hoops heads into Monday’s showdown on a 12-game winning streak in the Premiership, scoring over 1.5 goals on 11 occasions during that period.
With 61 goals to their name (3.2 goals per game), Celtic are the league’s top scorers by some distance. They also boast the best defensive record, having conceded a measly 15 goals.
Given that Celtic have suffered a solitary defeat in their past 51 Premiership games, they will be confident of claiming the Old Firm bragging rights on Monday.
Head-to-head: Celtic thrashed Rangers 4-0 in the reverse fixture back in September, with the Hoops extending their unbeaten run in this fixture to five games across all competitions.
Across their past 17 Premiership meetings, Rangers and Celtic have produced just two draws. Rangers have claimed seven wins, while Celtic have claimed eight.
Team news: Rangers have multiple injury absentees, including Steven Davis, Ridvan Yilmaz, John Souttar, Tom Lawrence, Filip Helander and Ianis Hagi.
As for Celtic, they will be without the injured duo of Stephen Welsh and James McCarthy for Monday’s derby.
Naturally, Rangers will be fired up for the visit of their bitter rivals. But Celtic’s record of one defeat in 51 league games cannot be ignored.
Forebet predicts that both teams will score at Ibrox. However, Celtic are expected to outscore Rangers and pick up their 19th victory in 20 Premiership outings this term.