Source: TheGuardian
Rangers v Celtic: Scottish Premiership – live!
Old Firm derby updates from 12pm BSTMatch turns spotlight on Gerrard’s first Rangers seasonFeel free to email Tom or to tweet: @TomBry 11.52am BST Incidentally, the pre-match music at Ibrox at the moment is this: 11.50am BST Neil Lennon takes the opportunity to score an early point: “Coming here as newly crowned champions is a good feeling,” he says bugt then adds: “But that’s gone now and we need to concentrate on the game.” He says Rangers are a good team: “They’re slick and on good form so I expect it to be a high octane game.” But adds that Kieran Tierney and James Forrest are not fit enough today: “can’t take any chances with them”. 11.41am BST Steven Gerrard says he wants his team to repeat their Old Firm victory at Ibrox in December but admits it will be tough. He’s had a look at the Celtic team sheet and can’t quite work out what Neil Lennon is doing: “There’s a chance this team selection of Neil Lennon can switch to a back five or three, so it’s important we work that out early. But the focus has to be on us to improve on our last five performances.” Gerrard has also challenged Foderingham to prove that he is a No 1 after the keeper was brought in to replace the suspended McGregor. 11.36am BST Neil Lennon has claimed there is a discipline issue at Rangers, more to stir the pot than anything else, but does Allan McGregor’s ludicrous sending off for kicking Hibs striker Marc McNulty suggest he has a point? Rangers top the list for red cards this season, while Celtic have the fewest number of yellows (and have also conceded the fewest number of fouls) 11.29am BST Interesting (and slightly disappointing) that Gerrard no longer feels he can trust Morelos in the starting line up anymore. His sending off the last time these two teams met seems to have been the snapping point for the manager. “I’ve gone above and beyond,” said Gerrard then. “I’ve backed Alfredo more than enough and I can’t defend him any more.” His absence from the pitch today (he is on the bench) means Scott Brown will have to wind somebody else up, given it was his flick of Morelos’s leg that led to the reaction that earned the striker the red card. Will be intriguing to see who he targets. 11.23am BST “It is difficult to place a more irrelevant Old Firm game – Rangers will be second in the Scottish Premiership and Celtic are the champions regardless of Sunday’s derby outcome – but so much of the Glasgow story is viewed through the prism of a single fixture” – so says Ewan Murray. You can read his preview of the game here: Related: Old Firm derby turns spotlight on Steven Gerrard’s first Rangers season | Ewan Murray 11.14am BST Rangers: Foderingham; Tavernier, Goldson, Katic, Flanagan; Davis, Jack, Kamara; Kent, Arfield, Defoe.Subs: Firth, Worrall, Halliday, McCrorie, Morelos, Candeias, Barisic. 10.56am BST “It would have been a touch of class if they did it. I’m disappointed they are not. Celtic would have done it.” So said Neil Lennon, with a straight face, before this final Old Firm derby of the season. He was referring to the debate over whether Rangers should or shouldn’t give the SPL champions a guard of honour. Hmmm.It’s been the talking point before the game because, other than the absolutely everything that an Old Firm derby normally has riding on it, there is nothing much riding on this. Rangers can cut Celtic’s lead at the top of the table to six points with a win, but they can’t overhaul them and nor would defeat mean they slip back a place. So, instead, there’s nothing but good old fashioned bitter rivalry hanging on this. Which is always good. Continue reading......read full article
