The Rangers struck gold on their own against McGregor

Glasgow Rangers will face their city rivals in the Scottish Premiership at Parkhead this afternoon in their 36th game of the league season.

The Light Blues will go more than five years without winning the league title after defeats to Hearts and Motherwell in their last two league games almost put them out of the race.

Their opponents today, still have a chance to beat Hearts in the cup to retain the title, and that may give the Gers motivation to get points in this game.

Danny Rohl’s team will want to win regardless of what they want because it is a derby game but now they are in a position to destroy Celtic’s title by beating them.

The Ibrox giants will need to win a crucial battle against the Hoops if they want to return with the points they will face in the Premiership on Sunday.

Rangers need to win a crucial battle against Celtic on Sunday

When the Gers came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Celtic at Ibrox in the league in March, the midfield battle cost Rohl’s side as the Hoops finished the game with 55% possession and 71 more passes attempted.

Rangers allowed their opponents, especially Callum McGregor, to control the ball and dictate how the game went in the second half, which resulted in them dropping two points on the day.

Rohl can’t allow McGregor, one of only three players in the league to complete 2,000 passes this season, to get on the ball and control the game with possession.

If the Gers can control the ball through their midfield and press quickly and force Celtic to play towards McGregor instead of through him, they can win the battle in the key game on Sunday.

To win that midfield battle at Parkhead, Rohl must unleash the Rangers star who could be his own version of McGregor in the middle of the park.

Rangers have hit the jackpot in their own Callum McGregor

In the summer of 2024, Rangers signed central midfielder Mohamed Diomande on a permanent £4.3m deal, after spending the second half of the 2023/24 campaign on loan at Ibrox.

The Gers hit the jackpot for the Ivory Coast star as they valued him at around £17m when Besiktas made a bid last summer, which means his value has increased by £12.7m over the past two seasons at Ibrox.

Diomande has not been at his best this season, starting 17 out of 28 league games, but he is more used to playing as a number ten, rather than in midfield.

In the 2024/25 campaign, Philippe Clement emphasized the Ivorian’s role in the build-up, using the left-footed forward to connect the defense to the attack with his ability on the ball.

Diomande, like McGregor, was one of the Premiership’s leading metronomes last season, ranking high in touches, passing accuracy, ‘big chances’ creation, and passes made.

However, the poor performance of his game this season, which made him play an attacking role, made him fall from the team, which is why he started only 17 league games.

However, Rohl could change that by releasing him into midfield against Celtic to be McGregor’s team mate, as he was last season, and win the midfield battle on Sunday.

Diomande’s performance against Clement has shown that he can be a midfield controller at Premiership level, using his technical quality to play in midfield, which is why Rohl should play him in that role again.

The Gers have already hit the jackpot for the left-footed star, with his value rising to more than £12m, but making him their own McGregor would also take his game to another level under the German coach.