Celtic ace warns Rangers Europa League tie could cost them.
Celtic take on Rangers this weekend aiming to keep up their excellent record over their rivals.
Rangers remain unbeaten in all competitions this season and there has been talk of a revival at Ibrox.
Prior to the Old Firm clash Rangers must travel to Russia to take on FC Ufa in the second leg of their Europa League tie on Thursday evening.
Celtic play their Europa League qualifier against Suduva at home on the same evening.
Regardless of what happens in the matches on Thursday, Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor believes Rangers have a big complication on their hands due to the travel.
McGregor believes Rangers will find the long trip to be problematic, whether they realise it at the time or not.
He told The Scotsman: “They’ll have to deal with getting home at 4am on Friday and we need to take advantage of that.
“It’s something which does affect you. You come back and you think you feel good but, five, ten minutes into the game, you can feel it in your legs. That can be difficult, obviously, but you just need to get on with it as best you can. Coming back from Russia is the hardest, just down to the distance.
“You get back home and get into bed but you’re up again first thing in the morning to get back into the training ground and do your recovery so it’s quite tough but that’s the job.”
Rangers only hold a 1-0 lead over FC Ufa and so are not in a position to rotate their first choice players.
This week will be Steven Gerrard’s biggest test to date and Celtic’s experience, and lack of travelling, could give them a key edge on Sunday.
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