The mere thought of one Rangers defender going toe-to-toe with one of Celtic’s most feared attackers has Ross McCormack predicting that Sunday’s Old Firm derby could be over before it even begins.
And, no, the former Rangers striker is not talking about James Tavernier vs Daizen Maeda.
Time and time again, the Ibrox skipper has come up against Celtic’s irrepressible Japan international and been left resembling a tired old wildebeast desperate to fend off a hungry hyena.
And it’s just Tavernier’s luck that, as he settles into a more central defensive role, Maeda is threatening to turn himself from a winger into a blood-thirsty penalty-box predator.
Tavernier vs Maeda, however, is not the battle McCormack fears the most.
If interim boss Barry Ferguson sticks with the 3-4-2-1 system which served Rangers so well in that 3-1 Europa League first-leg win over Fenerbahce, rather than beefing up the visitor’s backline it could actually have the opposite effect.
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Ross McCormack hopes Robin Propper does not start for Rangers vs Celtic
Kris Boyd fears Ridvan Yilmaz and Jefte will be exposed – presuming both are picked to start – by the high-and-wide positioning of Celtic’s two wingers. Likely to be Jota and the fearsome Nicolas Kuhn.
So, as far as McCormack is concerned, the return from injury of Leon Balogun and Dujon Sterling could hardly have come at a better time. Because the prospect of Kuhn darting in behind Jefte and squaring up against the sluggish, always error-prone Robin Propper is a nightmare that even Freddie Krueger may have second thoughts about inflicting on his victims.
“I think it’s a good thing that, probably, Propper is not going to play,” McCormack says. “Because if Jefte jumps [into the attacking areas] and Propper ends up one-v-one with Kuhn? Oh my days…
“Game over.”
While the likes of Cyriel Dessers, Vaclav Cerny, Mohamed Diomande and Connor Barron appear to have benefitted from Ferguson’s Ibrox return, the so-called ‘new manager bounce’ is yet to work it’s magic on the former FC Twente captain.
Robin Propper was ‘terrible’ alongside Clinton Nsiala as Rangers were forced to come from 2-0 down at Kilmarnock. The Dutchman then failed to reappear for the second half in the home defeat by Motherwell.
It remains to be seen if he recovers from the concussion which forced him off just half an hour in away to Fenerbahce last week. But, even if Propper is fully fit, Ferguson might already have seen enough to include either Balogun, Sterling or even Nsiala in his place on the left of a new-look back-three.
Andy Halliday shares Ridvan Yilmaz fears ahead of Old Firm derby
Back in 2009, shortly after leaving Rangers for a second time, Barry Ferguson explained what is required to triumph in an Old Firm derby. Aggression, discipline, spirit and a fast start to set the stall out early.
Former Gers midfielder Andy Halliday agrees, placing the importance of mindset over systems and tactics. He does have concerns about Ridvan Yilmaz’s ability to stop whoever lines up on the Celtic left, though, after watching the Turkey international struggle to contain a tricky Allan Saint-Maximin in Istanbul.
“I’ll tell you what, I wouldn’t play 4-4-2,” Halliday begins. “But I don’t think it’s the shape that matters. It’s the gameplan.
“I can see why they would [play in the same system as against Fenerbahce] but, again, I come back to Yilmaz. I thought Yilmaz was so suspect in the game when Saint-Maximin came on.
“How can you play against Saint-Maximin and give him ten yards every time he gets the ball. How many crosses did he put in in ten minutes? Dujon Sterling comes on and gets tight to him straight away. Completely nullifies him.”
