Michael Stewart delivers ‘honest’ verdict on who’s stronger for the title race – Celtic or Rangers

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Michael Stewart has shared who he believes has the strongest squad for the title run-in as Celtic prepare to face Livingston this afternoon.

Celtic will be looking to reclaim the top spot in the Scottish Premiership with an away win against David Martindale’s side after Rangers’ 3-1 win over Hibs at Ibrox yesterday.

Brendan Rodgers will be missed in the Celtic dugout this afternoon as he serves his one-match SFA ban but for the players, it will just be business as usual.

They know that anything but a win is essential to keep Celtic in the title race driving seat and with key players returning from injury and improving their form, this will be a huge boost for Rodgers as we get into the business end of the season.

It was this that prompted a discussion between Kenny McIntyre and Michael Stewart on BBC Radio Scotland on who out of Celtic and Rangers has the strongest squad as the title race heads towards its climax.

Michael Stewart says Celtic are stronger than Rangers

The outspoken BBC pundit is generally very fair with his analysis and comments regardless of which team he is speaking about and his verdict on why he thinks Rodgers’ side is stronger than Philippe Clement‘s is pretty bang on.

Stewart said [BBC Radio Scotland], “So if everybody’s fit, I’ll be honest it’s pretty much a toss of the coin. I would marginally go with Celtic and it would be down to the fact that the injured players they’ve got out are real.

“It’s like Kenny Miller talking before and he was absolutely spot on, Jack Butland, Tavernier, Goldson and Lundstram, they never get rotated. It would be like missing those guys for most of the season.

“That’s what Celtic have had with Hatate and Carter-Vickers, in particular, who have been missing, Callum McGregor over the last few weeks.

“They are the heartbeat of that team that has been missing. So I would marginally go for Celtic and that’s the biggest reason why they’ve had such a disrupted season their quality has been missing.”

Brendan Rodgers will be delighted that he is set to welcome McGregor back into the fold. There is no doubt the Celtic captain will be pivotal in his quest to retain the league title.

Hatate has been sorely missed as the Celtic manager has tried, and failed, to find a suitable player in his squad to fill the Japanese star’s boots since he was injured on international duty in February.

And as for Carter-Vickers, his role in the team is crucial. When he was out injured Celtic were clearly not as stable at the back and the fact we have only lost four domestic fixtures with him in the team over three seasons is a story in itself.

Today is a must-win game ahead of the Ibrox Glasgow Derby. Anything less puts undue pressure on Celtic for next weekend.

With the players that Rodgers has available to him, Celtic should pick up the three points at Livingston regardless of whether the Hoops boss is in the dugout or not.