Former Celtic centre-back Alan Stubbs has tipped recent Hoops arrival Shane Duffy to win any physical battle that could take place against Rangers’ Alfredo Morelos in Saturday’s Glasgow derby, the Scottish Sun reports.
Duffy is set to make his first appearance in a Glasgow derby, and fans are no doubt eager to see how the player, who is a well-known Hoops supporter, fares in the game.
Stubbs, who played in some exciting derbies in his day, praised Duffy for his ‘old-fashioned’ qualities, and he doesn’t think Morelos will fancy any battles against the Hoops defender.
“Have to pick your fights”
“He’ll relish the Alfredo Morelos confrontation at the weekend, as long as he keeps it in check and doesn’t get too involved. You have to pick your fights, and I don’t think Morelos picking a fight with Shane is one the Rangers striker would win” Stubbs said, as quoted by the Scottish Sun.
“He’s an old-fashioned throwback to a centre back. He will throw any part of his body on the line and that’s a great attribute to have” Stubbs concluded.
You can see why Stubbs is such a fan of Duffy. Duffy is indeed the type of no nonsense centre-back that could have played football around 30 years ago. He does things with the minimum of fuss, and just gets on with defending.
Biggest game of Hoops career so far
This will be arguably the biggest game that Duffy has played yet in his Celtic career so far. The Europa League games against Riga and Sarajevo were vital, but they don’t really stand up to the importance of the Glasgow derby.
Duffy’s battle against Morelos will certainly be one that’s worth watching. The Rangers striker has never scored against Celtic. If Duffy performs as well as he can, that record can continue on Saturday. He is more than capable of dominating the Rangers man.
Stubbs managed to score a few goals for Celtic in Glasgow derbies. Who would bet against Duffy scoring in his first Glasgow derby? He’s already shown this season that he knows how to find the back of the net.
Defending comes first though, and that’s what Duffy will be concentrating on in the derby. Hopefully he has a derby debut to remember.
In other news, David Turnbull is looking forward to his first Glasgow derby.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
