Celtic boss Wiflried Nancy has endured a torrid start to his tenure at Parkhead with five defeats in his seven games in charge ahead of the visit of bitter rivals Rangers on Saturday.
The Bhoys sit three points adrift of leaders Hearts, but they blew the chance to close the gap earlier this week as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat at Motherwell.
The performance in that loss was probably their worst display under Nancy, and a failure to win on Saturday may force the club’s hand under mounting pressure from the supporters that another change of manager is required.
Rangers have disappointed this season by their own standards, but they look to have found a bit of form ahead of the short trip to their Old Firm rivals
A win for the visitors would see them move level on points with the Bhoys and put them right back into title contention.
Team news
Celtic will be without Sebastian Tounekti, as he is on international duty with Tunisia at the ongoing AFCON tournament.
Kelechi Iheanacho is unlikely to feature due to a hamstring issue, but there is an outside chance he could be involved.
Rangers winger Oliver Antman faces a further four weeks on the sidelines after picking up an injury in training, while striker Bojan Miovski is a doubt after missing the win at St Mirren due to illness.
The stats
Rangers are unbeaten in normal time in their last six meetings with Celtic across all competitions (W2, D4).
Celtic have lost two of their last three home games, while Rangers have won four of their last five Premiership games.
Both teams have scored in four of the last six meetings between these two Glasgow rivals.
Rangers have just one defeat in nine away games in this competition.
Prediction
Celtic are a team in disarray right now, and boss Nancy is surely on borrowed time.
Failure to beat Rangers on Saturday could result in his spell in charge coming to a very early end, while a defeat would almost certainly be the final straw for the Frenchman.
Rangers’ recent record against their city rivals means they look an attractive bet to either draw or win in the double chance market, but it could pay to be bold and take a chance on backing the visitors to win.
Celtic are yet to keep a clean sheet under Nancy, and they have conceded more than once in six of his seven games in charge.
The Bhoys are a team in crisis, whereas Gers look like a side on an upward trajectory under the guidance of Danny Rohl.
The Light Blues have picked up back-to-back wins ahead of Saturday’s game and have four wins from their last five.
As big-price underdogs, they look good value to take advantage of a Bhoys crisis and pick up three points at Parkhead.
