I'M pretty sure Celtic are going to have the majority of possession in the League Cup semi-final on Sunday.

Ronny Deila likes his side to pass it around at the back and in midfield until an opening that can be exploited presents itself.

So I think Rangers will have to pack the midfield and try stop their opponents playing through the middle.

The Parkhead club cannot, under any circumstances, be allowed to dominate that crucial area of the field.

Scott Brown and probably Nir Bitton will be in there - and Kris Commons, too. Commons can shoot and score goals from 20 or 30 yards out. He has done that against Rangers before.

So nullifying Celtic in that department is very important for Rangers. They can't allow their rivals to dictate play in midfield.

They have to get tackles in there. Every challenge must count if the Ibrox club are going to get anywhere near their adversaries.

Yet, Kenny McDowall doesn't have that many players at his disposal who excel at that. Basically, he has Nicky Law, Kyle Hutton and Ian Black who can play in the middle. So this might be just the game for Black to come back in.

For his tackling ability, his fighting qualities and his experience, I would recall him and play a 4-5-1 formation.

But doing that would present a problem. What is Black's reaction going to be if the game gets physical, or if Celtic go ahead?

In these big games you tend to fly into tackles. If you are late then there is every chance you will see red. I am fairly confident there won't be 22 players left on the park at the end of the 90 minutes.

Having said that, Rangers would, I am sure, love to make it physical because Celtic are the better footballing side.

They are going to have to get in about them and stop them playing - as teams have done to them in the lower divisions.

But it has to be legal. You can't afford any mistimed challenges or you will be yellow-carded or sent off.

Rangers have to get close to Celtic, pressurise them, but not do anything too rash.

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