When Paul Pogba spoiled Manchester City’s title party earlier this month, there were City fans spotted slumped and in tears at the end of the game. The 3-2 win to United was never going to be anything other than a simple delay of the Championship celebrations but it seemed to offer little balm to the City wounds after they threw away a two-goal lead to their neighbours.

If offered a lesson in just how intense the need for one-upmanship is when it comes to derby rivalries.

For the first time since 1979 Celtic have the opportunity to clinch the league against Rangers after failing to take all three points against Hibs last Saturday. And Boyata needs little tutoring in just what it will mean to the Parkhead support to go out and wipe the floor with their Ibrox rivals.

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“I watched that game [between City and United] and, at the end of it, you could see fans crying – staying in the stands and crying. Because, for them, it meant more to win against United than just to win against any other team.

“So it’s a great example. We’ve seen what happened – especially when City were winning 2-0. It’s going to be hard but we will do everything we can to be on the good side of it.”

Despite the added edge that goes with this encounter on Sunday, Boyata doesn’t expect it to be any more frantic that previous games he has played against Rangers.

“I think it would be difficult to have a different atmosphere than we’ve had before,” he smiled. “I mean, all the Old Firm games have just been crazy. I expect it to be as crazy, I mean, if it was more crazy, I don’t know what that would mean!”

A native of Brussels, Boyata has acknowledged that he knew of the rivalry between the clubs prior to his arrival at Celtic but without ever understanding it in great details. The defender believes there is no comparative in Belgium and he was eager to do his homework when he first arrived in Glasgow.

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“You have to,” he said. “Because you need to understand, you want to understand where it comes from. I’ve been here for three seasons now, so I know. There is this love of football that is passed from generation to generation. Now we can see people even younger than me are so crazy about this game.

“Where I came from, it’s not like this. In Brussels, even the derby game doesn’t get that much attention. So being able to play for Celtic is a great thing, especially today.

“We’ve worked very hard to be in this position, it’s not easy. And Sunday could be a great moment for us. But we have to go and get it. It won’t just fall at our feet.

“When I signed, first my agent was a big fan of the club. And my wife’s grandfather was a big fan of the club – so he told me about it in the beginning.

“And I live in a great neighbourhood. I get along with all my neighbours, most of them are Celtic fans. So, whenever there is an Old Firm game, you can feel the tension!

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“We can spend all night talking about it. So even my wife knows more about it than most people! I didn’t know before I signed here, there are three or four different Irish pubs in Brussels who are obviously big fans of Celtic. Whenever there are games on everyone goes and watches them. So when I signed here and went away with the national team I was told there is a good community of Irish people in Brussels that support Celtic.”

Since Rodgers arrived at the club Celtic have been dominant in the fixture. Rodgers is undefeated in all ten games he has played against the Ibrox side but the memory of the game that was the catalyst for getting the 45-year-old to Celtic in the first place remains fresh in Boyata’s mind.

“I’ve been here for three seasons and I lost my first one, the semi-final in 2016,” he said. “So having had that feeling, I know I don’t want to have it again.

“The manager’s record against Rangers is a great one. That’s why he is well respected here. But he will be the first one to tell us not to think about those 10 games, only this one.

“Walking onto the pitch, we aren’t going to think about the games we won before, only the one we want to win now.

Read more: Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers tells Parkhead players to go and make their own history on Sunday

“When you are a player on the pitch, you can feel that an Old Firm game is not a normal game at all. So being on the losing side of it is very difficult.

“It’s a motivation every time you step out because you don’t want to have that feeling again.

“I’ve been on the positive side for quite a while now. It’s been good for us. We have been working very hard.

“The motivation now, especially to win the league in this game, is very high. But we are never going to disrespect the opponents.

“For them, I’m sure it is a very difficult moment. But if I was on their side right now and I had the chance to stop your rivals winning the title, I’d be giving 150 per cent.

“For us it’s a motivation to win the game, for them it’s a motivation to stop us.”