Opinion: Celtic will look radically different from last visit to Ibrox

The Celtic side which will be picked by Ange Postecoglou for the Hoops’ trip to Ibrox on the 3rd of April will look very different from the side which started for the Hoops on their first visit to Ibrox this season back in August.

Looking at the Celtic starting line-up which took on Rangers back in August, what is interesting to note is that some of the starters in the game have since left the club, whilst some players who have proved themselves to be Celtic mainstays this season had yet to feature for the Bhoys.

The Celtic starting line-up for the game which the Hoops narrowly lost 1-0 was: Hart; Ralston, Welsh, Starfelt, Juranovic; Christie, McGregor, Turnbull; Abada, Edouard, Kyogo.

That game turned out to be the last Celtic games played by Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie, who both left the Hoops at the end of the August transfer window.

What is also notable is that neither Cameron Carter-Vickers or Jota, two of Celtic’s key men this season, were as yet in the Hoops team.

If you compare the Celtic team that started at Ibrox in August with the one that will likely start at Ibrox a week on Sunday, there might be at best only four players that have made the Celtic starting line-up in both games, injuries permitting.

Those players are: Joe Hart, Carl Starfelt, Josip Juranovic and Callum McGregor. Juranovic likely will play at right-back at Ibrox and not left-back like he did in the first Glasgow derby of the season, which was also his Celtic debut.

In an ideal world both David Turnbull and Kyogo would be starting at Ibrox for the second time this season, but that doesn’t seem likely. Turnbull has only just returned to the first-team, whilst Kyogo is still in first-team training.

Probably the best that can be hoped for