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Nothing else matters for the Old Firm A midfield battle awaits in the Old Firm derby, as Rangers make Celtic – not Europe – their priorityThere has never been any question of Rangers juggling two equal priorities this season. The club's midfielder Steven Davis was honest enough to admit this week: "I think we all know the answer to that," in reply to a query as to which was the more important game out of the upcoming meetings with Valencia and Celtic.Arguably, if Rangers finish third in their Champions League group, the Europa League could be regarded as a nuisance into the new year with personnel issues and a domestic championship defence in mind. The riches on offer from a last-16 place in the senior competition would render that sort of progression a different story altogether. The latter prospect, with a trip to Spain and the Mestalla to come, remains a long shot.Not that Rangers' thin squad, or safe knowledge that they won't lift the Champions League trophy in May, should fuel thoughts that they have little interest in European competition. The display against Valencia on Wednesday evening proved that much, with the excellent Ibrox encounter a timely antidote to some utterly depressing occasions – both on the club and international scene – for Scottish teams against continental opposition over the past two years.Walter Smith doesn't have the luxury of rotating his playing staff for Sunday's eagerly anticipated trip to Celtic Park. The Rangers manager even admitted on Tuesday that training is virtually nonexistent for his squad at present, amid concern over a ruinous batch of injuries. Neil Lennon's variety of options, particularly in attack, rightly make Celtic the narrow favourites to claim this season's SPL title.Yet Rangers have factors on their side that should not be underplayed, particularly with Sunday's derby in mind. Namely, that is, course and distance specialism added to a midfield that could prompt Lennon into tactical variation.That Rangers midfield will almost certainly be supplemented by the return of Lee McCulloch. The former Wigan Athletic man has grown in influence since being deployed as a holding midfielder by Smith; McCulloch is pivotal as Rangers revert from their 5-4-1 European template to that of 4-5-1 against their oldest foes.McCulloch, Maurice Edu and Davis would provide a fulcrum to the team that would seriously test Celtic for the first time in this campaign. Lennon has understandably been affected by an injury sustained by his captain, Scott Brown, whose dig and energy is invaluable to the Celtic cause. The two players deployed as central midfielders for Celtic in last Sunday's win at Dundee United, Ki Sung-yong and Joe Ledley, are noticeably short on the bite of which Rangers are hardly lacking.Lennon's response to that frailty could be to recall EfraÃn Juárez, the Mexican who has rather surprisingly failed to feature much recently given his promising start in Celtic colours. Sceptics could suggest that any deviation from the 4-4-2 system that has served him so well would be an example of Lennon affording too much respect to the opposition.Celtic's only other potential concern can relate to inexperience of this particular fixture. Anthony Stokes, Juárez, Emilio Izaguirre, Fraser Forster and, particularly, Gary Hooper have all looked impressive enough during their early weeks in green and white. Still, Celtic could field as many as eight Old Firm debutants, a risk emphasised by the experience – and a successful one, if more through financial constraints than design – within the Rangers ranks.Smith has a terrific record against Celtic, as Lennon will be all too aware. The psychological importance of Celtic's win over Rangers late last season – a game that was meaningless other than as Lennon's first Old Firm match as a manager – could be borne out by Sunday's events.Lennon lacks management experience, but is hardly a novice where this game is concerned, meaning he has plenty of wisdom to impart on any nervous debutants. Anxiety may be prevalent elsewhere if the timing of leaked information relating to Celtic's latest gripe about refereeing is anything to go by.Thankfully, old adages regarding form books and windows can be ignored; both teams have been flawless on the domestic scene thus far. If the value of this fixture is often overstated, this time it would be folly to place too little emphasis on proceedings. It promises to be utterly compelling.CelticRangersScottish Premier LeagueEwan Murrayguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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