Heading into the Glasgow derby this Sunday, one of the key subjects constantly being discussed is the injury latest.
Indeed, Celtic have concerns of their own with Tom Rogic and Daizen Maeda both pulling out of international duty. As for Rangers, they’re said to have Alfredo Morelos and Aaron Ramsey down as doubts.
However, it’s difficult to read too much into the reports on our rivals. Morelos, for example, may have left the Colombia squad early. But he trained with his national team last week regardless.
Ramsey, meanwhile, has also been pictured in Wales training despite being a fitness concern for their friendly match against the Czech Republic tomorrow night. He updated his Instagram story with a snap of him doing some ball work.
Whilst there may be genuine knocks or concerns regarding their fitness, it’s not something to get excited about. We all know Rangers will have them fit and available to play come kick-off. Even if they aren’t fully fit, this is their biggest match of the season. It’s win or bust for them. They’ll have their best players available. Especially if they were on training pitches over a week before the game.
That’s exactly the approach Ange Postecoglou and his Celtic players will be thinking. They’ll be seeing the reports and the injury updates and totally dismiss it. It’s important we take a similar approach and not get too excited as supporters.
If Celtic focus on their own game then Rangers’ starting XI means nothing
Celtic know they can beat Rangers regardless of who they put out at Ibrox. It won’t matter if Ramsey and Morelos are starting so long as the Hoops play their own game and take their opportunities.
Contrary to what Rangers fans want you to believe, Ramsey has done next to nothing up here. It’s been nearly 2 months since his arrival and he’s yet to make any sort of impact in Scottish football.
We know the dangers Morelos can pose. We’ve seen it in the past and he’s a lively figure in this fixture. He’ll try to hold the ball up and he gives them a much more powerful outlet than Kemar Roofe. But even so, he was left silent in the last Glasgow derby at Ibrox.
Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt will certainly believe they can snuff Morelos out this weekend. And that’s exactly what they’ll be preparing for.
If Rangers are struck with injuries come kick-off then it’s good news for Celtic. But they can’t prepare for it. It can subconsciously lead to complacency and that’s something we don’t want anywhere near our mindsets heading into Sunday.
Hopefully, all of them are fit regardless. We want no excuses for turning them over on their own patch.
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