Rangers vs Celtic; Scottish Premiership
Rangers vs Celtic. Scottish Premiership.
Ibrox StadiumAttendance50,116.
Sky Live: Rangers v Celtic: Glasgow rivals braced for Ibrox showdown
Saturday 23 September 2017 11:15, UK
Fierce rivals Rangers and Celtic face off for the first time this season in front of the Sky Sports cameras on Saturday lunchtime - and home hero Alfredo Morelos has been warned to keep a lid on his emotions.
The Colombian has scored eight goals since his summer switch from HJK Helsinki but Caixinha has urged the 21-year-old - who escaped punishment after appearing to kick out at Partick Thistle defender Jordan Turnbull during Friday night's 2-2 draw - to keep his cool in the Old Firm cauldron.
"He's young, he's gifted and he's scoring goals but he needs to control his emotional side," Caixinha said. "I need to send an alert and that alert is that I know he is going to be provoked.
"He just needs to understand how to face the challenge - because he is going to be challenged. I want him to have his temperament. If I take his temperament out then he's losing his identity. He just needs to know how to control it."
Caixinha knows his side cannot afford to suffer a repeat of the 5-1 drubbings. Celtic twice dished out to the Light Blues last term if he wants to avoid his position coming under fresh scrutiny and has admitted he will tweak his tactics at Ibrox.
"We hope to close the gap on Celtic to two points on Saturday and I think we can do it. But the last time we played Celtic, we used a 4-4-2 with a diamond. Would it be risky to do it again? Yeah, not having the right players to play that shape is risky. It didn't work last time for many reasons but we have different actors so there will be a different approach."
Celtic will look to continue their 56-game domestic unbeaten run against their old foes and Brendan Rodgers believes his side's experience will come to the fore.
"There's been a lot of change in the Rangers' personnel," he said. "It's a different set of players so you expect them to work differently. Experience definitely plays a part, there's no doubt about that. There's a noise and intensity to this game that a lot of the other players haven't felt before.
"We concentrate on our own work though. It's been a great start for us. Defensively we are very strong and we know we can go anywhere and score goals."
Team news
Caixinha is already without Lee Wallace (groin) and centre-back Danny Wilson (calf) for the showdown and is hoping his defensive crisis does not deepen.
Bruno Alves (calf) and Declan John (thigh) are facing a race against time to be fit and if Alves fails to recover, it could mean a first start for youngster Ross McCrorie.
Wes Foderingham will return in goal while Kenny Miller could also start after both men were rested for Tuesday's win over Partick Thistle, but midfielders Niko Kranjcar and Jordan Rossiter remain out with knee problems.
Celtic should have Jozo Simunovic available at Ibrox after the centre-back missed the midweek win at Dundee with a swollen knee.
Striker Moussa Dembele is back in the squad after being rested for the trip to Tayside but defender Erik Sviatchenko and midfielder Eboue Kouassi (both knee) are still working their way back to full fitness.
Opta stats
Since winning promotion back to the Scottish Premiership, Rangers have picked up just one point from a possible 12 against Celtic (W0 D1 L3), conceding 13 and scoring just four.
The previous four league games between the two old firm clubs have seen a total of 17 goals scored with Celtic winning by an aggregate score line of 13-4.
Celtic are unbeaten in the league since May 2016 (P45 W40 D5 L0) and have only lost once in their previous 58 league matches (P58 W48 D9 L1).
Rangers' last league victory at home against Celtic came back in March 2012 (3-2) an encounter that included three red cards.
Celtic forward Moussa Dembele has scored five goals in his last five appearances against Rangers in all competitions.
Scott Sinclair has netted four times (two penalties) in his previous six appearances against Rangers in all competitions for Celtic.
No player has netted more goals in the Scottish Premiership this season than Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos (6).
