Rangers are preparing to welcome Celtic to Ibrox this weekend in the Scottish Cup 4th round with a place in the quarter-finals up for grabs for both sides.
The Gers will be hoping to keep their emphatic home form going at Ibrox, the club winning all 17 domestic matches at the ground this season.
Celtic have had a well-documented disastrous campaign and enter this match knowing it’s their only opportunity to salvage silverware and pride this season.
Under caretaker boss John Kennedy they have a renewed confidence with the ex-Parkhead defender adding extra spice to the match by claiming his side is still the best in the country [Daily Record].
That’s despite Rangers being 20 points clear in the league, winning the title at its earliest point for over 100 years.
Gers fans will be hoping this serves as a team talk for their side who have – despite remaining unbeaten – largely underperformed in Old Firm clashes this season.
Rangers are also boosted by the inclusion of teenage right-back Nathan Patterson, who is available to play ahead of an appeal over a six-match Covid-19 ban being heard next week.
This has angered Celtic and Kennedy, the Parkhead club fuming the Gers have a right-back available for the match amid injury problems to captain James Tavernier [Scottish Sun].
Here’s how we fancy the Rangers side to line up for the match with the Ibrox side eyeing a deadly double in this already iconic domestic season, our team remaining unchanged from the weekend’s 2-1 win over Hibs:
Rangers predicted XI v Celtic
GK – Allan McGregor
DR – Nathan Patterson
DC – Connor Goldson
DC – Filip Helander
DL – Borna Barisic
CDM – Steven Davis
CM – Glen Kamara
CM – Joe Aribo
RW – Kemar Roofe
ST – Alfredo Morelos
LW – Ryan Kent
Speaking of those John Kennedy comments, Rangers fans were delighted with Steven Gerrard’s “glorious” response.
