Which players will be key in Saturday's Old Firm at Celtic Park?; Celtic host Rangers in the first Scottish Premiership meeting between the clubs; watch it live on Sky Sports Football from 11:30am on Saturday, kick-off at 12:30pm
Saturday 3 September 2022 13:06, UK
Two points separate Celtic and Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premiership, so where could Saturday's Old Firm clash be won or lost?
Rangers make the trip to Celtic Park knowing defeat would be a dent to their title hopes even at this early stage of the season.
The Ibrox side are actually unbeaten in four of their last five visits to Celtic Park in the Scottish Premiership, so ahead of Saturday's encounter, WhoScored.com pick out four key head-to-heads that could well determine who has bragging rights this weekend.
As far as the full-backs are concerned for the Old Firm, all eyes will certainly be on Rangers captain James Tavernier, but Josip Juranovic certainly has his part to play for Celtic. The 27-year-old has established himself as first-choice for Celtic since his arrival last summer and his versatility has been key, capable of playing in either full-back position. The Croatia international has settled into a right-back role this season and that will see him come up against Ryan Kent and compatriot Borna Barisic.
Juranovic's role in the team is not identical to Tavernier's, but he heads into the Old Firm in good form in front of goal with a goal and an assist in his last two outings. Importantly, however, he has completed six of his seven attempted tackles in the Scottish Premiership this season. He will need to be at his best defensively to keep Rangers' attack quiet to limit the number of crosses they are capable of putting into dangerous areas.
Meanwhile, Rangers' boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst will be encouraging Tavernier to make his presence felt in the opposition half as often as possible.
The 30-year-old's output makes Trent Alexander-Arnold look average. Over the last three Scottish Premiership campaigns, Tavernier, a right-back, has remarkably played a direct hand in at least nine more goals than any other player (42) and he already has four goals and assists in five games in 2022/23.
Callum McGregor has taken to his new role under Ange Postecoglou like a duck to water, thriving at the base of Celtic's midfield since the back end of last season. It is a less glamorous role than he was used to, but equally as important. After playing a direct hand in 10 goals in the 2020/21 league campaign as a No 8, he only managed four goals and assists last term and is yet to leave his mark in the final third this term.
Rather than finishing off attacks, he is now starting them. The Celtic captain averages 75.4 passes per game this season and his pass accuracy stands at an impressive 91 per cent. However, there are still improvements to come from the 29-year-old, as a WhoScored rating of just 6.64 is well off the standards set over the previous two seasons.
John Lundstram struggled to nail down a role for Rangers after he first signed from Sheffield United in the summer of 2021. It was initially expected he would be a box-to-box midfielder, but since settling at the base of Rangers' midfield, he has really established himself as a key player for the club, particularly during last season's Europa League run, and that has continued under Van Bronckhorst.
The 28-year-old's main responsibility now is to break up opposition play and keep things ticking for Rangers when they have the ball, illustrated by the fact he ranks fourth in the division for passes per game this season (77.4) and the four ahead of him are all centre-backs. A pass success rate of 90.7 per cent demonstrates he is efficient in possession but he is not merely playing short passes. A return of 6.2 long balls per game ranks third of all outfielders in the division and shows he has a good range of passing to help Rangers go from back to front quickly and with precision. Defensively, Lundstram is not diving into challenges as shown by a return of just 0.6 tackles per game, but instead using his ability to read the game to break up possession, as highlighted by 1.2 interceptions per game.
With seven goal involvements in five league matches, Celtic winger Jota is the top WhoScored.com rating player in the Scottish Premiership so far this season (8.12). The 23-year-old, who scored in the last meeting between the two sides, has been a nightmare for defenders this season. Jota has completed the most dribbles (11) and created the most goalscoring chances (15) in the division so far this season. Not only that, but the Celtic winger is also responsible for 19 per cent of the through balls completed in the entire division this term (3/18). Jota's fine form actually stretches back to last season since the turn of the year. A return of 13 goals and assists in that time is the most of any player in the division.
What Postecoglou will arguably value even higher than Jota's output is his willingness to work hard out of possession. The former Portugal under-21 international is averaging two tackles per game this season and has won possession in the attacking third more times than any other player in the Scottish Premiership (7), allowing Celtic to stay on the front foot in matches.
Should Jota return to the right-hand side on Saturday, then he will come directly up against Rangers' own creator-in-chief, Ryan Kent. The 25-year-old hasn't made quite as dazzling a start to the season as his opposite number, but he is just as important for Rangers when it comes to breaking down an opposition defence. Kent has three assists in as many league appearances for Rangers so far this season, averaging one more frequently (every 77 minutes) than Jota (every 103 minutes). A return of three key passes per game is only matched by Jota in the Scottish Premiership so far this season.
Creativity may not be enough from Kent in this match, however. It's important to have goalscorers all over the pitch and Rangers can't afford to solely rely on Antonio Colak as their source of goals. The problem for Kent is he hasn't scored in the league since December and has only hit the target with six of his subsequent 46 attempts on goal.
Kyogo Furuhashi has been a revelation since joining Celtic at the start of 2021 and heads into the weekend's action as the top scorer in the Scottish Premiership with six goals in five matches. Furuhashi has an impressive goalscoring record in general for Celtic with 14 goals in 17 league starts for the club. The Japan international has netted against seven of the 12 teams he has faced in the Scottish Premiership but will be looking for his first Old Firm goal on Saturday.
Furuhashi couldn't hope to be in better form for the first derby of the season having scored in each of Celtic's last four matches, including a hat-trick in last weekend's 9-0 demolition of Dundee United. He is also the third top WhoScored.com rated player in the division (7.37) courtesy of his seven-goal involvements (six goals, one assist) in five league games for the campaign.
Antonio-Mirko Colak has hit the ground running for Rangers since his summer switch from Greek side PAOK. The Croatia international has scored four goals across his first five league matches after netting a brace in Rangers' 4-0 win over Ross County at the weekend.
The 28-year-old faces his toughest test this weekend, however, as Celtic have made a perfect start to the season with five wins from five and only one goal conceded. Colak is also yet to score away from home in the league for Rangers, with all four of his goals coming at Ibrox.
