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Celtic defender Mikael Lustig must get his big chance to shine against Rangers.

The Sweden international had a disaster in the last derby as his horrifically timed tackle led to the goal.

However, the stats suggest he is a better player than Jeremy Toljan.

Surely Neil Lennon will stick by his man, but will injury make that decision for him?

Lustig beating Toljan in the stats for Celtic

The German was brought in during the winter transfer window to take Lustig’s mantle.

The 24-year-old isn’t setting the world on fire in his numerous appearances.

Comparing the two right-backs, this is completely backed up to Toljan’s detriment.

A Celtic by Numbers post shows Lustig winning the battle in both possession won as well as defending success by a significant distance.

The Swede is the more experienced of the two players which may go a long way to understanding this.

That said, Toljan isn’t a young footballer by any means especially when compared to his Celtic teammates.

It’s not surprising to know that the more athletic Toljan is a better attacker than the ageing Lustig, however, he is more careless in possession.

Injury may prevent Lustig playing for Celtic

The 32-year-old hobbled off at the weekend’s Euro qualifier between Sweden and Romania in the first half.

Now the Hoops are sweating on whether he will make the derby and it’ll be a massive loss.

The Hoops backline is being decimated with Kieran Tierney and Dedryck Boyata also pulling out their national side.

However, on the same flank as Lustig, Rangers’ left-back Borna Barišić also went off injured for Croatia.

This will ease the pressure for whoever will be up against Andy Halliday – a lesser player than the Croatian.

Whoever Lennon picks for Sunday’s tie has a massive task and must contribute in restoring Celtic’s pride.

A second defeat, then it will be curtains for a lot of people including the manager, trophy or not.