Rangers 'vulnerability' Ange Postecoglou's Celtic 'animal' can take advantage of

Former Celtic and Scotland star Kris Commons reckons there is a “vulnerability” to Rangers going into the Old Firm clash on Sunday.

The fixture could be key on the destination of the title with Ange Postecoglou’s men three points ahead at the top of the cinch Premiership.

Rangers won the first fixture between the sides before being swept aside at Celtic Park earlier this year.

Commons believes Postecoglou has “created an animal”, while he reckons for Rangers it is “a game they simply cannot afford to lose”.

Ange Postecoglou has created an "animal" at Celtic. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

"It's the psychological damage they could inflict on Rangers if they were to beat them on their own patch on the back of that Celtic Park annihilation,” he said in his Daily Mail column.

"There's also the fact that Rangers are still juggling their domestic ambitions with trying to make further progress in the Europa League.

"Even beyond next week's game, I still feel there's a vulnerability to this Rangers team domestically and I sense that they could drop more points from now until the end of the season.

"I don't get that same impression from Celtic at the moment. They look extremely slick and well-drilled. Postecoglou has created an animal.

"If they do go on and become champions, I feel it would rank as one of the sweetest league titles in Celtic's history, given the shambles the club were in last summer."

Commons believes Celtic need to be prepared for a fast, energetic start from Rangers at Ibrox. Something the defence will have to rise to with the home support set to create a hostile atmosphere.

"Giovanni van Bronckhorst is an experienced operator,” he said. “He knows how things work in Glasgow and he knows the pressure that he and his players will be under on Sunday to right the wrongs of the defeat at Celtic Park last month.

"I expect Rangers to go full throttle and try to unsettle Celtic in the early part of the match. Their fans will demand them to get on the front foot.

"It will be a big test for the Celtic defence and the likes of Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter- Vickers. They have both improved steadily as the season has gone on.

"But, particularly in European games, Celtic have been exposed at the back too easily. Rangers will look to play on that and maybe plant some doubts into their minds again.”

He added: "Going away from home as an Old Firm player pitches you into an environment unlike any other. Neil Lennon always used to tell us to be 'ice cool' and to take the sting out of the game.

"But that's sometimes easier said than done. I remember a few games where I literally couldn't hear some of my team-mates when they were stood only a few yards away from me on the pitch.

"The noise is deafening and that's the cauldron Celtic must prepare themselves for this weekend. Rangers will be coming after them because, from their point of view, it's probably last-chance saloon."

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