da betway： Celtic face Rangers on Saturday in the biggest match of the Scottish Premiership so far this season. It’s the classic, monumental clash that gets everyone talking across the country. It’s also a very important game for both clubs irregardless of the derby aspect. For Celtic it’s the chance to surge ahead with their ambitions of dominating Scottish football again this season and for Rangers an opportunity to show they are making significant progress under Pedro Caixinha.
da betsul： It’s a notoriously difficult fixture to predict but over the last 18 months or so you’d be considered a fool for thinking it’ll end any other way than a positive result for Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic. They’ve dominated five of the last six encounters between the two sides with only a last-minute Rangers goal to draw 1-1 at Celtic Park preventing a whitewash last season.
The Hoops will be the red hot favourites going into this one again but if they’re to win, they’ll need to be at their best.
One performer we reckon they’ll be able to rely on is Tom Rogic. The Australian has never started at Ibrox but he’s all set to shine and become the man everyone is talking about after the 90 minutes.
Here are THREE reasons why he’ll be on everybody’s lips after the derby…
He runs the Celtic show
The recent victory over Ross County at Celtic Park was the perfect example of a match where Tom Rogic simply ran the Celtic show. When he is at his best then he is the focal point for everything positive the Hoops do in the final third.
If Rangers have sense on Saturday they’ll set up pragmatically with the focus on defending, and that’s arguably when Rogic’s importance to the Celtic team comes to the fore.
His ability to find space against tight defences is quite remarkable, always managing to drop into freedom between the midfield and defensive lines. His excellent footwork and dribbling skills just enhance that; even if he’s tightly marked, he’ll find the yard or two he needs to pull off his pass or a shot on goal.
There are many dangers in the Celtic team, some are flashier than Rogic himself, but he’s often the most effective and the most ruthless when it comes to directly contributing to goals.
He’s a true big game player
Celtic arguably have many big game players but it’s often Tom Rogic who shines brightest when the Hoops need him most. Whether it’s scoring last-minute goals to win trebles, or putting the team on the front foot in their toughest tests of the season, the Australian is usually at hand.
It’s interesting to note though that he has never started a game at Ibrox, primarily due to fitness issues, and there’s arguably no better arena to show off your ability for Celtic than at home of their eternal rivals.
He’ll be wanting to show he can do it in the hostile environment on Saturday and prove he is once again Celtic’s man to turn to when the going gets tough.
He somehow still flies under the radar
Despite all his obvious strengths and the love the Celtic support have for him, strangely Tom Rogic is not discussed as often as some of Celtic’s headline-grabbing stars. Scott Sinclair, Patrick Roberts and Moussa Dembele won all the plaudits last season but when the Australian international was available he was every bit as effective as they were. He’s had his injury issues and in the past there have been question marks about his ability to last for 90 minutes, but he’s moved on from that now.
With Rangers likely focusing on players like Sinclair and even Dembele if he starts, it gives Rogic the perfect opportunity to fly in under the radar and be the one that punishes them.
He’s shown in the past he doesn’t need many chances to finish from distance or play an incisive pass and while Pedro Caixinha’s side may be preoccupied on the flanks, perhaps that’ll give Rogic the space he needs to devastate the home side once again.