The big derby day is nearly upon us. Celtic face off against Rangers on Saturday knowing a victory will put them on the brink of a third successive Scottish Premiership title.
The Bhoys currently sit three points ahead of the second-placed side with just three games remaining.
That context makes this one of the most important derbies in recent memory and, understandably, Celtic are favourites to come out on top.
Brendan Rodgers’ side haven’t been beaten by Rangers this season, winning home and away in the early part of the season before drawing at Ibrox last month.
Celtic look strong and confident. Importantly, the squad is also injury-free after so many fitness issues throughout the campaign.
Stable Celtic side set to face Rangers
The latest to return was Japanese winger Daizen Maeda. He’s been a go-to pick for the manager this season with 33 appearances in all competitions. All things going well, he should get his latest start this weekend.
Maeda came off the bench against Hearts last week to build a bit of match sharpness. If he’s come through training without an issue since then there’s no doubt he should get the nod in the eleven against Rangers.
Whether taking James Forrest or Nicolas Kuhn out of the line-up, Maeda has plenty to offer with his pressing and athletic ability that causes opposition defences all sorts of problems.
There’s no better example of that than his opening goal against the Ibrox side in the last derby meeting between the two sides, catching out James Tavernier.
For me, I’d give Forrest another big opportunity to impress, too. Then Kuhn can come into the match in the second half and look to make an impact from the bench.
The German hasn’t done much wrong of late so some may consider it harsh to drop him, but Forrest has that glint in his eye right now with three goals in his last three games.
The rest of the eleven picks itself right now so Rodgers will likely name a very settled side, opting to freshen up the attack with Maeda’s work-rate.
It’s a team talented enough to get the job done.