Celtic v Rangers team news confirmed: Todd Cantwell dropped, Ridvan Yilmaz decision made

Celtic v Rangers team news confirmed: Todd Cantwell dropped, Ridvan Yilmaz decision made

There are few greater matches for Rangers than having to defeat Celtic at home if they are to win the Scottish Premiership.

Although there are a lot of injuries on his team, Philippe Clement still has faith in them to win.

Due to a lack of players, Rangers have selected this lineup to take on

Celtic in a match that either makes history or is quickly forgotten by the supporters.

Who starts for Celtic against. Rangers, as confirmed by the team?

Following Rangers’ victory against Kilmarnock,

Ben Davies played his first minutes of 2024 and Ridvan Yilmaz made a welcome comeback to the starting lineup.

Normally, Clement wouldn’t take a chance on them,

but when asked if they were prepared to go into the game, he revealed part of his reasoning during the pre-game news conference:

“I cannot give my starting 11, that would be too easy.” It was a very wise question!

When a player who hasn’t played in a while returns from an injury, the medical and performance staff always have to make the call.

“What is the best way short and long term?” Collectively, we decide on these matters.

They determine what to do with the minutes, and I decide when they should start or stop.

Since we are telling a story together, I always stay with those numbers.

“We’ll see if the time comes when you need to take more risks.

Maybe at one point.” Though he is stuck in the middle, Clement has determined that playing Ridvan is too risky.

The only other senior center-half that is active and has experience playing is Ben Davies.

Even though he plays a position that isn’t as physically demanding, his mental toughness will still need to be at 100%. He may be a little rusty, though.

On his more natural side, John Souttar will be pleased, and the defense appears more balanced overall.

Borna Barisic needs to have far more courage than he has shown on his previous visits to Parkhead.

You would have assumed that the midfield,

which determines whether the game is won or lost, was almost chosen by itself.

Tom Lawrence will need to demonstrate that he deserves to replace Todd Cantwell,

and John Lundstram will need to step up his game from prior derbies this season.

Whether Rangers are in possession or not, Mohamed Diomande needs to give it his all for the full ninety minutes.

He cannot simply come and go from the game.

Lawrence is in the same boat.

There has never been a finer opportunity to dominate an Old Firm than in these games, for which he was signed.

Clement selects his squad to upend the title contest.

Due to injuries, Philippe Clement’s options for the forward line are limited,

thus he will play with the lineup he has been playing with recently for Parkhead:

After scoring against Kilmarnock,

Fabio Silva should feel secure, and Dujon Sterling’s quickness and strength should pose a threat to Celtic.

Regarding Cyriel Dessers, the Rangers ninth man is evaluated based on his goals,

particularly those he has scored against Celtic.

With two goals disallowed and a 1v1 slaughtered in his past three derbies,

this is his chance to establish himself and silence his naysayers.

If you win, the game is on; if you lose, it’s over.

One of the charges leveled at this Rangers club is that

they lack the attitude necessary to travel to Parkhead and defeat Celtic.

When Filip Helander’s header separated the two teams in 2021,

Steven Gerrard’s final meaningful league victory came from an Old Firm.

Even if the team hasn’t won away from Ibrox in a very long time,

Philippe Clement still thinks his team has the mental toughness needed to get closer to the leaders.

Philippe Clement supports Rangers’ mindset in their Old Firm victory.

The Old Firm derbies have been closer since Clement’s arrival, with defensive errors,

the occasional contentious judgment, and ball breaks accounting for the only things separating the two teams.

When asked if his players would be able to manage the Parkhead environment, Clement responded,

“I’m really confident about that, I have no doubts about that,” during the pre-game press conference.

If you want to be a player here, in this town, you have to love that.

Many people I know enjoy playing here.

“It’s a situation where, as I experienced myself, the more people who boo you,

the more they yell at you, and the more negative people think negatively of you,

the more they fear their team won’t win.