Philippe Clement’s woes deepen as another key man ruled out to face Celtic amid injury setbacks

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Brendan Rodgers is preparing Celtic to face a Rangers side that have experienced their fair share of injury problems in the lead-up to today’s clash at Ibrox.

Starting with the visitors, only James Forrest is absent for the Bhoys as they travel to Govan following a knock picked up in the Premier Sports Cup final last month.

Other than that, Celtic have a clean bill of health ahead of facing Rangers, but the same can’t be said for Philippe Clement, who has had to deal with several recent fitness issues regarding his squad.

James Tavernier will miss the Glasgow Derby due to injury, while Leon Balogun is deemed doubtful to take on Celtic after coming off against St Mirren on Boxing Day.

Continuing the theme, Clement now has more bad news to contend with in the immediate lead-up to the action on Glasgow’s southside.

Jack Butland absent for Rangers vs Celtic and permutations

As most will know, due to wide-ranged media reportage, Jack Butland has been ruled out of featuring in the Glasgow Derby after being admitted to hospital with an internal bleed in his leg.

The 31-year-old has since been discharged but is set to spend time on the sidelines as a result, leaving Liam Kelly as the most likely candidate to come in between the sticks.

There is also a looming question over who will take the armband for the hosts, as their captain and vice-captain are unfit to participate.

However, there is no more fresh injury news to come from either side, offering both managers their remaining pool to select from in their third meeting of the season.

Injuries won’t take away from Celtic’s task against Rangers

Glasgow Derbies are often fast, frenetic affairs, and personnel being unavailable doesn’t minimise the difficulty Celtic will face in taking on their rivals in front of 50,000 home supporters.

Nevertheless, the Bhoys have fared well in the past when up against it at Ibrox and have made a habit of picking up results at the home of their adversaries, which can only bode well for today’s encounter.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	CelticCeltic	18	16	2	0	52	4	48	50
2	RangersRangers	18	11	3	4	31	13	18	36
3	AberdeenAberdeen	19	10	4	5	31	26	5	34
4	Dundee UtdDundee Utd	19	8	7	4	28	20	8	31

Key:

Position 1 – 6 : Championship Round
Position 7 – 12 : Relegation Round

Any quantifiable outcome bar a loss will be deemed as a positive one for Celtic, who will retain a double-figure points advantage regardless of events that unfold in their latest Scottish Premiership clash.

All that remains now is for Rodgers’ men to show why they are in the driving seat to claim a fourth successive title. Hopefully, they can do just that!