Rangers v Celtic: Why Old Firm showdown is moment of truth for Giovanni van Bronckhorst in high stakes title race

When the dust settles on the action at Ibrox on Sunday afternoon, the Premiership title race will still be on regardless of the outcome.

Yet even though there will be another 18 points to play for, it is difficult to avoid the sense that the latest Old Firm collision represents a defining and possibly decisive stage of the campaign.

Clearly, that is especially the case for defending champions Rangers in arguably the most significant match yet faced by manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst since he replaced Steven Gerrard last November.

Having inherited a four-point lead at the top of the table, which was subsequently increased to six before the turn of the year, van Bronckhorst now finds his team trailing Ange Postecoglou’s resurgent Celtic by three points.

If that gap is stretched to six with a Celtic victory, even the most optimistic Rangers supporter would struggle to present a case for their team turning it around in the remaining six rounds of fixtures.

Such has been Celtic’s level of consistency since the winter break, with just two points dropped in 11 games, there is no evidence to suggest they are likely to slip up elsewhere on the run-in.

Even a draw at Ibrox would harden their favouritism with the bookmakers who already have them priced as short as 2-7 to lift the trophy in May.

So victory looks like an imperative for Rangers who are also at a considerable disadvantage in terms of goal difference where Celtic are currently 14 goals better off.

Rangers can take confidence from their home form - they are unbeaten in their last 35 Premiership matches at Ibrox, a run which now stretches back over two years since a shock 1-0 loss against Hamilton Accies in March 2020.

They have also won their last four meetings with