When Rangers drew with Celtic in January, the overriding emotion was one of frustration, not just because it was a missed opportunity to close the gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership table but also because it was a game that we should have won.
Celtic scored with their only two attempts on target, one from a defensive mistake and the other a series of deflections falling kindly to Kyogo Furuhashi, other than picking the ball out of the net, Allan McGregor had one of his quieter Old Firm afternoons.
It didn’t feel like it at the time but we only had 40% possession but still managed to muster 15 shots at goal, getting the balance right between defence and attack is going to be critical – our two goals both came from exploiting the space left by their full-backs with Fashion Sakala and Ryan Kent causing them problems throughout the 90-minutes.
Ange Postecolgu has said before that he won’t change his approach for anyone but he will be naive not to take notice of where Michael Beale targeted his defence at Ibrox, although, personally, I’d be more than happy for him to give up similar space at Hampden.
It seems, on paper, like a relatively straight forward tactical battle. Celtic will press high and Rangers have to find a way of escaping it, if they do, as they did at Ibrox, there could be a lot of joy to be found behind their midfield.
It’s not an old fashioned derby but I can’t help but think that whoever wins the psychological battle, as we did at Hampden in the spring, is the team that will emerge victorious. Beale has instilled a spirit in this Rangers team that has been long since missing, if we are disciplined and focussed, it could be the difference.