By Sam Stone
Alan Brazil believes there isn’t much between Celtic and Rangers at present but insisted that the Gers cannot lose this weekend’s Old Firm clash at Parkhead.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side head into the fixture two points behind Ange Postecoglou’s men after their disappointing draw against Hibernian at Easter Road.
A defeat on Saturday (3 September) would send Celtic five points clear of the Gers with only six matches of the campaign played.
Talking on talkSPORT Breakfast, Brazil said [09:11, 2 September]: “I don’t think there is much between the sides with Celtic starting the season brilliantly and Rangers picking up that magic result over in Holland.
“Rangers against Liverpool is on the horizon and Celtic travel to the Bernabéu to face Real Madrid, it’s great for Scottish football.
“But I’m pretty sure a lot of Rangers fans will not want to lose this one because then a big gap starts to emerge.”
Draw a good result
The two sides do look evenly matched as we head into the first Old Firm clash of the season and one bonus for Rangers is that they’ve already had to deal with pressurised fixtures so far this season.
The home tie against Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and both of the legs against PSV Eindhoven saw Rangers demonstrate their big game experience.
Celtic have had a relatively easy start to the season with just domestic commitments to contend with before their Champions League campaign gets underway in the coming weeks.
This is looking like a good match-up between the two Old Firm rivals, with potentially a tight game in store.
Antonio Colak could be vital in any hopes that Rangers’ harbour of getting a positive result on Saturday lunchtime.
The Croatian’s clinical play and movement in and around the box could play an important role in finding a decisive moment for the Gers.
Rangers haven’t been as defensively resolute as they were last year, so it will be a big test of van Bronckhorst’s backline to answer any criticism that has been directed their way so far this season.
In other Rangers news, the BBC never seem to learn their lessons as they persist with their embarrassing anti-Rangers agenda.
