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Rangers: Tam McManus explains why Celtic may now be favourites ahead of Old Firm clash at Ibrox
Tam McManus believes recent injury news for Rangers and Celtic could give the latter the advantage in the upcoming Old Firm showdown.
The clash at Ibrox on 7 April is a potential title decider given how close to the two teams are in the Scottish Premiership standings.
Rangers are sweating on the fitness of Ridvan Yilmaz for the crunch game, although the Daily Record suggests he is on course to return in time.
Oscar Cortes and Abdallah Sima are two others currently sidelined, whereas Celtic are expected to welcome back Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate and Liam Scales this week.
Speaking on PLZ Soccer [25 March], McManus said: “It could be pivotal. I think that Celtic are starting to get players back, and Rangers are going the other way.
“With Celtic starting to get players back, the likes of Hatate, [Cameron] Carter-Vickers and guys like that, and Rangers losing some key players, that could be the difference in the Old Firm game coming up.”
Rangers awaiting injury news ahead of return to action
This is the point in the season in which managers need every last one of their players available, especially in Rangers’ case.
While the European campaign may have come to a disappointing end, they are still competing in two competitions in their bid for a treble.
The Viaplay Cup is already locked in; now focus is on the Scottish Cup and, more importantly, the Scottish Premiership title.
Philippe Clement has managed to get the most out of every player since coming on board, so much so that Ridvan’s absence is now a big blow.
There are still a couple of weeks to go until that Old Firm clash, so hopefully Ridvan is back and there are no further injury setbacks.
Man for man, Rangers have a better XI than Celtic and there is no reason why they cannot end this recent losing run in the fixture next month.
It is then a case of seeing the job through, which should not be a problem as long as the squad remains firmly intact.
