Key battles as Rangers visit Celtic in season’s first Old Firm derby

It marks the first Old Firm derby of the Scottish Premiership season.

Shane Duffy v 
Alfredo Morelos

Will this be the derby, finally, that Morelos makes the Celtic support pay for all those Youtube gloatfests over the Rangers striker’s calamitious misses across 12 appearances against the Scottish champions?

It seems inconceivable that the Colombian won’t at one point break his duck against his club’s bitterest foes.

Yet, on his debut, boyhood Celtic supporter Shane Duffy will hardly be in the mood to let his dream of featuring in the legendary confrontation be remembered for the wrong reasons.

The on-loan Brighton centre-back is now firmly in the groove following an iffy start to his time with Neil Lennon’s men, apart from his immense aerial prowess delivering two goals.

The Republic of Ireland captain has been integral to Celtic racking up four consecutive clean-sheets before the international break, and his uncompromising style means he will relish the almighty scrap with which Morelos will seek to unsettle him.

The forward won’t want that to extend the eye-catching numbers he has posted in the derby.

Those come in the form of five yellow cards and two reds.

Morelos given the ultimate sanction at the end of the Ibrox’s men 2-1 victory in Glasgow’s east end 10 months ago, the Scottish powerhouses’ most recent face-off.

Morelos will come into the encounter having hot-footed it from South America, where he made two substitute appearances for his country in World Cup qualifiers.

Jeremie Frimpong v 
Borna Barisic

It isn’t often you could label a face-off between – what are nominally – two defenders as key to attacking impetus in an encounter.

Yet, the advanced positions Frimpong, a right wing-back, and Barisic, a left-back, take up, means the push-and-pull between the pair will have a real bearing on which of the combatants can get on the front foot.

Barisic’s delivery from wide areas is profoundly important to the creative ambitions of Steven Gerrard’s men.

Similarly, with Frimpong’s fleet-footed burrowing up pitch, though the Dutch teenager’s unreliable final ball means he has been the creator for only two Celtic goals in this campaign.

The duo also have one goal apiece.

Callum McGregor v 
Ryan Jack

The two Scotland internationals might not spend that much of Saturday’s skirmish getting as up close and personal as they have been in the nation’s colours for the past week or so.

Their roles, though, ensure the midfielders will be judged on how they function compared with each other.

Both will be tasked with building play from the back, and their recycling and ability to offer a metronomic presence at their team’s core will go some way to determining which of the teams takes a grip.

Jack will be the more deep-lying of the two, his chief duties screening the defence and delivering the ball forward.

With Scott Brown alongside him, McGregor will be expected to perform both as a no.8 and no.6, knitting the play in the final third.

The threat offered by the Celtic vice-captain, an old hand in these contests, is reflected in his four-goal haul in them.

Not to say that Jack cannot conjure up such a moment – it was his goal in December 2018 that allowed Rangers to bring to an end a 12-game run without victory over their ancient adversaries.

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