FORMER Celtic midfielder Kris Commons reckons his old team will put Giovanni van Brockhorst’s Ibrox side to the sword at Parkhead on Wednesday night.
Liel Abada was the Hoops last-gasp goal hero against a stubborn Dundee United at the weekend after the Govan outfit had dropped two points against Ross County in Dingwall.
Now Ange Postecoglou’s men can go to the Premirship pinnacle in midweek with only a couple of points separating the teams.
Commons is confident the home side will emerge victorious and he emphasised: “I believe Van Bronckhorst would bite your hand off right now if you offered him a point.
“Why? Because there is a flakiness and a fragility to Rangers at the moment which has been evident for much of the season.
“We saw it back at the start of August, when 10-man Malmo came from a goal down at Ibrox to dump them out of the Champions League qualifiers.
“We saw it when Hibs went 3-0 up after little more than half an hour of the League Cup semi-final at Hampden in November.
“And we saw it again on Saturday with the concession of three utterly calamitous goals in the 3-3 draw with Ross County.
“After conceding just 13 goals in 38 games across last season’s unbeaten campaign, there was always a feeling that Rangers might struggle to replicate those sort of incredible numbers.
“But, by the same token, nor should there be an acceptance of mediocrity and sub-standard defending. This time around, they’ve already conceded 18 goals in 23 games thus far.
“That’s a huge difference and it’s pretty clear to me that the likes of Allan McGregor and Connor Goldson to name a couple just aren’t operating at the same level as last season.
“That’s as poor a performance as I can remember from McGregor on Saturday, two howlers which led directly to two County goals.
“He turns 40 today and had set the bar at an almost impossibly high standard for himself over the past couple of years with some truly remarkable saves for Rangers.
“But he’s not been at the races this season. That performance on Saturday had been coming for a few months.”
Commons, speaking to the Daily Mail, added: “The same applies to Goldson, who has been dragging his heels for months over a new contract whilst making some ill-advised comments about a ‘loss of hunger’ following the loss to Hibs.
“Despite the fact they could be missing half a team, I still expect Celtic to have too much firepower for Rangers.
“Celtic’s pace and movement up front is frightening at times. Jota has been a revelation in that respect, and Abada has also been superb since joining the club in the summer.
“Reo Hatate looks to be an outstanding technician in the middle of the park. It will be fascinating to see how he handles his first taste of the Old Firm derby.
“The same applies to Jota, Matt O’Riley, Giorgos Giakoumakis and Cameron Carter-Vickers. None of these guys were in the building when Celtic lost 1-0 at Ibrox back at the end of August.
“There’s a chance Celtic could have five Old Firm debutants in their team on Wednesday night. How they handle the pressure and the atmosphere will be key to a positive outcome.”
