Rangers will be a hard nut to crack in this game.

They have suffered only one loss at Ibrox this season in league play and only two overall. Both were against leaders Hearts. Moreover, their recent record in Old Firm matches is strong. Across their last seven meetings with Celtic, they have suffered just a single defeat over 90 minutes.

In their last meeting at Celtic Park, they cruised to a 3-1 win against a very disappointing Hoops side. Even when Martin O’Neill led the Hoops to victory in the League Cup semi-final back in November, it was only achieved after extra-time, with the Gers having been reduced to 10 men in that match in the first half.

Rangers also have the dual advantage of having a healthier squad than their opponents, as well as the fact that they have been able to focus on this game all week.

The stakes in this game are enormous, and these fixtures are noted for the volume of cards they typically produce at the best of times, so I expect that to be magnified in this encounter.

Rangers, after all, are a side that are picking up quite a few cautions this season, with 59 across their 28 league games this term. This means that they are averaging 2.11 per game. When it comes to facing Celtic, meanwhile, that figure has risen to 3.0. Indeed, they have seen exactly three yellow cards in each of their three Old Firm clashes this season – not to mention Thelo Aasgaard’s red in the League Cup.

Referee for the weekend’s match is John Beaton, who oversaw two Old Firm matches last season. These produced a staggering total of 20 yellow cards, 13 of which were to Rangers players, and he’s likely to be a busy man again on Sunday.

The form of Rangers striker Youssef Chermiti has been almost inexplicable this season, with the marquee summer signing having netted a disappointing seven goals in total.

He has, however, typically saved himself for the big games. He scored two against Celtic back in January, while he has netted four times against Hearts, including a hat-trick just a couple of weeks ago. When it comes to getting shots on target, the No.9 is a reliable force for Rangers. With 1.57 shots on target per 90, he posts the highest figure for the Ibrox club among players who have featured for at least 250 minutes this term.

He has at least one shot on target in nine of his last 13 appearances for the Gers. It’s Chermiti’s big-game performances in recent weeks that make me confident he will trouble Celtic’s keeper at least once.

Nicolas Raskin has been a foul machine for Rangers this season, both when it comes to winning and giving away free kicks.

With 2.03 fouls committed per game, he lies second in the Ibrox club when it comes to the crime count. Only Youssef Chermiti has more, yet in this case, Raskin is a more attractive bet due to the fact that he almost invariably plays 90 minutes. He has at least one foul in his last 24 appearances for Rangers, while recent weeks have seen this figure climb. Across his last seven starts, he has committed at least three fouls on five occasions.

He has a history when it comes to playing Celtic, too. In his previous meeting with Rangers’ Glasgow neighbours, he committed two fouls and also won two. I expect a similarly action-packed performance from the Belgium international in this game.