Celtic v Rangers: Will Old Firm derby delay be worth the wait?

Whether it’s the anticipation of a closer-than-usual title race, or simply the passage of time, there is a sense that next week’s Old Firm derby – the second of the season – is long overdue.
Celtic's Anthony Ralston (left) battles with Rangers'  Glen Kamara at Ibrox, on August 29, 2021 (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)Celtic's Anthony Ralston (left) battles with Rangers'  Glen Kamara at Ibrox, on August 29, 2021 (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)
Celtic's Anthony Ralston (left) battles with Rangers' Glen Kamara at Ibrox, on August 29, 2021 (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

It’s not an unprecedented wait by recent standards. Covid-19 caused a nine-month absence of the fixture two years ago and before that Rangers ‘journey’ through the lower leagues limited their meetings to two over four-and-a-half years.

But some 158 days will have passed between Filip Helander’s headed winner on August 29 last year and this Wednesday’s reconvening of Scottish football’s old adversaries and if a week’s a long time in politics, then that span represents an age in Scottish football.

Much has changed.

Much has changed since the sides last met in August - including the departure of Celtic's Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)Much has changed since the sides last met in August - including the departure of Celtic's Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)
Much has changed since the sides last met in August - including the departure of Celtic's Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)
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Back then covid-hit Rangers, under Steven Gerrard, sat third behind Hibs and Hearts – three places above a Celtic side acclimatising to Ange Postecoglou and European disappointments on two defeats in four.

Now, 158 days later, Giovanni van Bronckhorst will be in charge for the trip across town with Rangers’ superiority at the top restored – although Celtic, without Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie, have also gone unbeaten domestically since August and a title-race is showing potential, with Wednesday night pivotal.

Much has also changed in the month between the original January date and this week’s re-arranged matchnight, moved to accommodate the early winter break. The points gap has closed from six, to four and now to two.

We’ve been made to wait for the game, and a genuine title-race too – the pair haven’t started February so close, since one point separated them in 2012.

The Swede rose highest to score the winning goal. Shackled Edouard really well when he broke through in the first half. Missed an interception when Kyogo was played in, the only time he looked vulnerable.The Swede rose highest to score the winning goal. Shackled Edouard really well when he broke through in the first half. Missed an interception when Kyogo was played in, the only time he looked vulnerable.
The Swede rose highest to score the winning goal. Shackled Edouard really well when he broke through in the first half. Missed an interception when Kyogo was played in, the only time he looked vulnerable.

Celtic will likely be missing Kyogo Furuhashi, but his fellow J-League signings Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi plus Matt O’Riley have been recruited within the window. So too has Rangers’ Manchester United loanee Amad Diallo, who will replace the injured Ianis Hagi in the champions’ side, though wearing the number nine of January departure, Jermain Defoe. Neither Alfredo Morleos or Daizen Maeda are available as they could have been, though Jota is now fitter for the hosts, Scott Arfield and Leon Balogun back for the visitors.

Match-ups on the pitch now differ from those at the start of the year too.

Jota was signed two days after the last match between the sides and will be opposite another difference-maker – James Tavernier. How the Rangers captain shackles the Portuguese and how that affects his own attacking ambitions is one area to watch. Another is in the middle where Hatate will meet Glen Kamara. The Japanese midfielder has shown boundless running, with the ball or seeking it. If there’s one thing the Finn doesn’t mind it’s keeping possession under pressure. The more influential could swing the impetus.

And what of Rangers attack? Ryan Kent and Diallo breaking away against Celtic’s attack could prove equally decisive – unless the home-side reign in their high-press, not that Postecoglou has often shown signs of changing his philosophy.

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A Wednesday is an uncommon red-letter day for Scottish football’s big attraction – the first in over a decade. No matter when, it’s always eagerly anticipated. All the more when there is a title-race depending on it.

They’ve kept us waiting that bit longer this season, the question now is, will the wait have been worth it, and for who?

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