Ibrox side Glasgow Rangers host Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic next month, and one Gers man
Nine points separate Celtic and Rangers in the Scottish Premiership table, but there doesn’t appear to be a huge difference in class between both squads at the moment.
This time last year, you’d have done well to find a single Rangers player who would’ve made it into Celtic’s first XI, but fast forward 12 months and there are a few candidates.
At the moment, an arguement could be made in favour of Wes Foderingham, Josh Windass and Jamie Murphy being good enough for Brendan Rodgers’s side, but there can be no debate that another player in Graeme Murty’s Gers squad would start every game for the Hoops – James Tavernier.
The 26-year-old has arguably been the Ibrox club’s best player this season and the English right-back saw his form rewarded with a contract extension until 2021 earlier this month.
In contrast, Celtic’s first-choice right-back, Mikael Lustig, is a player who looks to be regressing at an alarming rate in recent months, with his red card in Sunday’s win at Aberdeen being the latest example of his decline.
And despite the hostility which exists between both sets of fans, even those on the green half of the Old Firm divide might acknowledge that Tavernier would displace Lustig in a heartbeat if, hypothetically, he was at Parkhead.
Both Glasgow rivals square off at Ibrox on March 11 and it’ll be very interesting to see how Tavernier acquits himself against Scott Sinclair and Kieran Tierney on the Bhoys’ left-hand side. On this form, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him keep both livewires quiet. The same can’t be said when Lustig comes up against Murphy.
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