Paul Lambert has delivered his prediction on who will win the Glasgow Derby next Sunday as Celtic entertain Rangers.
Brendan Rodgers will be looking to continue his unbeaten streak against Rangers as the Celtic boss looks to open up an early gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Rodgers looks like he will be heading into the match without star midfielder, Matt O’Riley, as the Celtic hero looks to finalise his deal to move to English Premier League side, Brighton.
However, that hasn’t stopped Lambert from making his big Glasgow Derby prediction as he looks forward to watching Celtic take on Rangers next Sunday.
Lambert expects tough Celtic win
Paul Lambert has been involved in 26 games against Rangers winning nine, drawing seven and losing 10. And whilst Celtic have been dominant in the fixture over recent years, the former Parkhead hero says his old club should still expect a difficult game.
Lambert told The Sunday Post [print edition page 76], “There will be no Rangers supporters inside Parkhead on Sunday and having a full stadium of Celtic supporters is a huge bonus. I’ll be at the game and I’m already looking forward to it.
“I expect Celtic to win but it will not be straightforward. I played in enough of them over the years to know that you need to earn the right to win this fixture. It is never handed to you on a plate.
“Philippe has tried and tried and tried and has still to beat Brendan. He will feel he is due a change of fortune at some stage soon and will hope it comes next Sunday.”
Celtic win ‘will really eat’ Rangers and Philippe Clement
As Lambert says, Clement tried and failed to beat Celtic on five occasions last season and on the one time he got close, the Rangers manager bizarrely celebrated the 3-3 draw at Ibrox.
And as the pressure of the title race mounted on the Ibrox boss last season, Lambert believes that another defeat to Celtic will be a huge psychological blow to Clement and his team.
Lambert continued, “But, again, to repeat what I said earlier, you need to be good enough to win this fixture. You need mental strength and ability.
“If Celtic win on Sunday then it will be another huge blow to Rangers. Psychologically, it will really eat away at Rangers, eat away at Philippe. It’s unlikely you will win the league unless you get the upper hand in this fixture during the four games. Brendan knows how to win this fixture and deliver the goods.
“So, three points for my former team would leave them firmly in the driving seat and, even at this early stage of the season, would leave Rangers with a mountain to climb.”
A Celtic win next week will take Brendan Rodgers five points clear of Rangers at the top of the league and whilst the Hoops boss and the support will take nothing for granted, that is an advantage that is key this early in the season.
Celtic will head into September preparing for a tough Champions League schedule and having a healthy lead at the top of the table will ease domestic pressure for Rodgers.
And as Lambert says, another defeat at the hands of Celtic will damage Rangers and their confidence in mounting a serious title challenge this season.
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