No time for excuses on Sunday, as Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic and Barry Ferguson’s Rangers resume rivalries on the Glasgow stage.
One man who knows this fixture better than most is the Rangers captain, James Tavernier.
Despite his decade-long stay at Ibrox, he has only secured one league title and watched Celtic walk all over Rangers time and time again
The 33-year-old might also be playing his last few Glasgow derby games because there has been even more pressure on his shoulders this season, as Rangers continue to struggle.
Over the years, from a Celtic perspective, it has been a joy to watch Tavenier week in and week out, especially during the derby itself.
The main reason for that is, one man has proven to be a nightmare for Tavernier, and even with a change from the Rangers interim boss, his worst possible scenario might follow him around.
No escape for James Tavernier against Daizen Maeda as Celtic face Rangers
Dazien Maeda is flying this season and pushing to become the Player of the Year in Scotland, as he has caused Tavernier no end of problems over the years.
Time and time again, with Tavernier at right-back and Maeda on that left wing, he has ripped him apart, including scoring inside a minute at Ibrox last season.
But, in recent matches, Tavernier has moved to centre-back under Ferguson – and even played in a back three.
He might see that as a relief because he doesn’t have to deal with Maeda out on the flanks, but he can think again.
Maeda is thriving as a centre-forward and, if Ferguson does the expected and plays his skipper at centre-back, then he might just have the man from Japan causing him more problems, this time from central areas, rather than out wide.
Maeda’s record against Rangers
For the majority of Maeda’s matches against Rangers, he has played out wide and the now-departed Kyogo Furuhashi has been the one to lead the line.
Yet, with eight goal involvements to his name, the 27-year-old still holds a pretty strong record against Rangers, including scoring that winning penalty during the League Cup final win at Hampden in December.
Unless Jota is unfit or Rodgers wants to completely change things up, you suspect Maeda will start up top and continue to cause the damage he has been setting on teams lately.
If that’s the case, then he is most likely going to come up against Tavernier again because he has moved centrally himself.
Even with a change in position, he simply can’t escape the man that has caused him more trouble than anyone else in his career.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
