The best Rangers can hope for in this Sunday's Old Firm derby is a draw and for me that would be a major bonus to Walter Smith and his team-building plans.

A point would buy the Ibrox gaffer time until his side settles into some sort of pattern. They still need to gel and Walter has yet to play what he considers his strongest eleven, week in-week out.

Right now, Celtic look stronger and closer to what Gordon Strachan wants for the challenges at home and abroad.

The Parkhead club has a real chance of taking an early lead in the SPL, which will serve them well when the Champions League group stage comes along.

I have a sneaky feeling there will be more than one goal in this match because of the glaringly obvious weaknesses in both teams. The Rangers full backs, Broadfoot and Papac are there for the taking. McGeady, Maloney and Nakamura could have a field day if they are in the mood.

The one saving grace is Bougherra at centre-half looks composed and assured, but is he ready for the mayhem of a Glasgow derby?

Rangers will clearly fancy their chances of getting at Andreas Hinkel and Mark Wilson and if Bougherra is under close scrutiny, then Loovens will face the same test at the centre of defence for Celtic.

I'd love to hear David Weir and Stephen McManus's chats to their respective partners ahead of this game.

It will almost certainly go along these lines: "Okay, listen to me now because this is the last time you will hear my voice before half-time.

"Do not take two touches in or near the box. If you do, check both legs are still working and see if the ball is in the back of the net."

Joking aside, one SPL manager mentioned to me he was impressed with how well Mendes settled into the midfield at Rangers, but he posed the obvious question, how will he respond to a heavy tackle? We are about to find out.The middle of the park is where this battle will be won or lost.

Rangers will pack it out with five men as Walter sticks with his tried and trusted formula for big games away from home.

Gordon must surely look to Barry Robson to return to the centre of the park for Celtic, where he stamped his authority all over Rangers in their last encounter in April of this year at Parkhead.

Up front, Rangers will try and nick a goal and defend their lead.

It's their only hope of a win, because Walter's team has yet to prove they can take the game to quality opposition. Kenny Miller will have a part to play in this match and don't bet against him scoring his first goal of the season against his old team-mates.

He'll run his guts out and won't be the least bit bothered about the abuse from both sets of fans in the stadium.

If Celtic score first, there is no way back for me, they will win the match. I'm not a Samaras fan, but he seemed to link up well with Maloney in last week's win over Falkirk. The injuries to Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and McDonald are not as big a blow going into this game.

There are more match winners for me in the Celtic line-up and free kicks could provide the greatest threat to Allan McGregor's goal.

The one element of this game you can never legislate for in this fixture is the referee.

I have more than a little sympathy for Dougie McDonald going into this one, because the men in black are less popular than Gordon Brown in the country at the moment and that's saying something!

He has handled an Old Firm derby before and, on his day, he has enough about him to keep his nerve; it's his assistants we're all worried about!

I hope we are talking about a moment of magic that wins this game, rather than an error from the match officials that results in a questionable goal.

Celtic to win, by the odd goal in three.

Burley lacking in goals

There is a nagging doubt in my head that our World Cup qualifying campaign is set to follow the same pattern as previous attempts to make it to a major tournament over the last 10 years.

I don't think we can do it, because I can't see where the goals are going to come from.

George Burley is an enthusiastic coach and when naming his squad yesterday he once again gave a spirited rallying call for the country to get behind him.

Belief, togetherness and luck are the key elements of George's master plan, but that will not be enough in my book. Ability is still in short supply, especially up front.

This is a Scotland team that will change from sitting in, soaking up pressure and trying to sneak a goal, to a side with two forwards that intends to take the game to the opposition. That is where the problem lies.

Walter Smith and Alex McLeish played to our strengths based on the squad available and we still didn't qualify. Have we suddenly had a huge influx of quality that suggests we can defeat Holland and Norway to qualify?

I hope I am wrong. Macedonia and Iceland are about to give us the first real insight into whether Burley's confidence is misplaced.

Yogi talks show class

I'M glad Falkirk manager John Hughes buried the hatchet and made peace with the refereeing hierarchy at a summit with SFA supremo George Peat.

There was an unsavoury war of words going on between the association and Yogi and it had to stop. There were wrongs on both sides, but there are never winners and losers in that kind of battle.

Dialogue and a willingness to wipe the slate clean is the only way to resolve these fall- outs. Yogi has shown what a real man he is by sorting it out.