Predicted Rangers XI vs Celtic: Four changes with one enforced as Danny Rohl goes all out attack in Old Firm
Here’s who we think will start for Rangers in their second clash of the season with Celtic.
There’s a place in a final up for grabs and that only adds to the tension that comes with any Rangers vs Celtic fixture.
Head coach Danny Rohl is only three games into his tenure at Ibrox but will find out what the Old Firm is all about in the second Premier Sports Cup semi-final of this season. The winner takes on St Mirren or Motherwell in the final, with positivity building after wins against Kilmarnock and Hibs.
Rohl has changed to three at the back and faces off against a Celtic side under the interim management of Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney. We are predicting four changes from the side that defeated Hibs 1-0 in the Premiership on Wednesday night.
Danny Rohl on Rangers vs Celtic
We reckon James Tavernier comes in on the right hand side of the back three in place of Nasser Djiga. There’s an attacking change in the wing-back area with natural full-back Max Aarons swapped out for Djeidi Gassama, who Rohl worked with while at Sheffield Wednesday.
Connor Barron impressed midweek but is suspended, so Mohamed Diomande comes back into the engine room. The final change sees Bojan Miovski replace Youssef Chermiti in the striker role as Rohl’s team takes on an attack-heavy approach to take on a Celtic team that lost two consecutive league matches before defeating Falkirk 4-0 midweek.
Rohl said ahead of the game: "I expect a big, big one on Sunday. It's why we love this game to be part of such a game. It's all or nothing. If you win, you're in the final, and if you lose, you're out. Everything is on for a great game. When you see such games on the TV, you always enjoy it because there's action, drama, intensity, goals and tight games. It will be a good one.
Who will play for Rangers vs Celtic?
"I can remember when Hansi Flick took over [at Bayern], our second game at home was against Borussia Dortmund. We won 4-0. It's always a booster if you win such games. In the Championship, we had the Steel City derby. I know what it means to the fans. It's more than just a game. It would be a big result to do this [on Sunday] and it would continue a great week with three wins in a row. You can feel it in the meeting room and on the training pitch, the positive energy is really big, as well as the belief.
“We watched the game back in the morning. I showed them some clips and the effort we had in the game, willingness, character, and good structure against the ball. In the second half, we didn't have as much ball possession, but it doesn't matter because they couldn't really break our last line. It was a great job. In the last two games, our counter-pressing has been much better, really sharp. I looked at the third goal [against Kilmarnock] and the 1-0 [on Wednesday], both come after counter-pressing. It's not just about counter-pressing on the ball, it's also about how we protect our back from the teammate.”
Predicted Rangers XI: Butland; Tavernier, Souttar, Cornelius; Gassama, Diomande, Raskin, Meghoma; Danilo, Miovski, Moore.