Rangers could blast the title race open this weekend according to former Celtic player Kris Commons

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Former Hoops midfielder Kris Commons believes Rangers cutting the gap to three points would mount immense pressure on Celtic.

Former Celtic midfielder Kris Commons believes Rangers have the chance to blast the title race wide open if they beat the Hoops this weekend at Ibrox.

The current deficit stands at six points with Celtic possessing a game in hand after their fixture against Dundee was postponed last week.

Both rivals made it through their Scottish Cup quarter-final ties at the weekend in dominant style, as a warm up to their match up this Sunday. However, Commons believes it will be Celtic who will be feeling the pressure, as they enter their most important fixture in the Scottish Premiership under the tenure of Brendan Rodgers.

“If Rangers beat Celtic at Ibrox next Sunday then the Scottish Premiership suddenly has a title challenge,” Commons said via his column in the Daily Mail.

“I don’t think Celtic, in the Rodgers era, have ever faced as much pressure in the league as they will next Sunday. If they lose – and the gap is cut to just three points – it would become immense.”

Since the appointment of Graeme Murty, Rangers have looked a much better outfit as they continue along the road of progression to bridge the gap between Celtic. Their Old Firm performance at the end of the year was a clear sign of improvement, as they went toe-to-toe with their Glasgow counterparts at Celtic Park on a day where both teams shared the points.

The natural sign of progression from last outing would surely be a home victory, and Celtic will be wary of the free-scoring Rangers attack that has been tearing teams apart in recent weeks.

Commons cited Celtic’s lack of attacking flair, partly due to some missing key players through injury such as Patrick Roberts and Tom Rogic as the reason Brendan Rodgers’ squad has not looked the same this term. He also eluded to the number of fixtures the champions have had to juggle, suggesting it may have taken its toll on the team.

Regardless, as the situation stands, Rangers now have a chance to reduce the deficit to three points, and given that a year ago the gap was ten times this amount, it finally looks like the gulf in class between Celtic and everyone else is closing.