Rangers host Celtic in the final clash of 2016.
Rangers take on Celtic on Hogmanay hoping to get a much needed victory over their bitter rivals.
Celtic are currently unbeaten in the Scottish Premiership and the carrot of ending that unbeaten run has to be a major motivation for Rangers.
The league title already looks destined for Celtic, who are 14 points clear of Rangers with a game in hand.
If Rangers lose then their faint title hopes really will be over heading into 2017.
Celtic’s Scott Sinclair in action with Rangers’ Wes Foderingham
By that token it is a game the Gers cannot afford to lose, while Celtic could suffer defeat and still stand a strong chance of retaining their crown.
Rangers should not need more motivation than this, but memory of their recent 5-1 hammering at Celtic Park should spark their desire even more so to exact revenge.
The dominance Celtic showed in the clash was a real eye opener for Rangers and their players, and led to Joey Barton’s swift exit from the club.
The Gers have since rallied, and their subsequent clash against Celtic in the BetFred Cup semi-final on neutral turf finished only 1-0 to Brendan Rodgers’ side.
Rangers manager Mark Warburton and Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers
With last season’s semi-final against Celtic a 2-2 draw and Rangers win on penalties, the Light Blues will hope they can prove the 5-1 was an outlier, a freak result, rather than a true illustration of a chasm between the two teams.
Rangers have all the motivation they need, and with a vociferous home support behind them they will be a dangerous team.
Whether this will be enough to end Celtic’s unbeaten record is another matter, and depends whether Celtic are as ‘up for’ the game as the hosts, and your view on whether the 5-1 result or 1-0 result is a truer example of the gulf in quality between the two sides.
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