Celtic and Rangers go head-to-head in the Old Firm derby for the first time since Mark Warburton brought Barton to Ibrox this weekend.
Celtic’s Scott Brown applauds fans after the game
Celtic take on Rangers in the Old Firm derby in Glasgow this weekend as Rangers look to re-establish themselves in the top-flight of Scottish football.
One of the key battles in the game looks set to be between Celtic skipper Scott Brown and Rangers mouthpiece Joey Barton – with neither likely to back down.
Rangers’ Joey Barton
Since Mark Warburton brought Barton to Ibrox from Burnley the midfielder has been chipping away at Celtic.
Brown is an avid Celtic fan who will no doubt want to silence the Rangers midfielder.
Fans are obviously excited ahead of their midfield duel.
Celtic’s Scott Brown celebrates winning the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership at the end of the game
Davie Provan, who played for Celtic but grew up a Rangers fan, has been discussing the battle during an interview on Sky Sports News HQ today (07/09/16) and believes Barton will have to put up or shut up at Parkhead:
“Joey’s had a lot of fun, been a bit of a wind-up, since he arrived in Glasgow with various comments about Celtic players and the Celtic manager. Come Saturday lunch-time he is going to have to back those comments up and walk the walk.
“Scott Brown enjoys confrontation. You saw that with El-Hadji Diouf when he was at Rangers.
“I dare say he is looking forward to going head-to-head with Joey at the weekend.
“If Joey comes up short, he’ll know about it for sure.”
Joey Barton applauds fans as he is substituted
The combative midfielders are set to be the centre-piece of a hotly anticipated Old Firm derby this weekend.
However, both Celtic boss Rodgers and Rangers gaffer Warburton do not play a game which will see a gung-ho clash – so tempers may be softened by the respective playing styles of both sides.
But when Barton and Brown do inevitably clash, it will no doubt be a highlight of this renewed Rangers-Celtic duel.
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