Both teams will be going into the Old Firm fixture with their tails up, and it promises to be an absolute cracker at Ibrox tomorrow.

For the first time since Rangers came back up into the Premiership, they will probably be going into this game as favourites, but it is such a tough game to call.

The hosts have started well, and the last time out on their own turf they dominated a Celtic side who didn’t perform anywhere near an acceptable level. Rangers deservedly won the game, so looking at that and taking into account the small crowd that Celtic will have behind them, it is perhaps only natural that people are thinking Rangers are favourites to win again.

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What can Celtic do to prevent that happening? Well, for me, the key area in this game is going to be the midfield battleground. That will go such a long way towards the outcome of this game.

Last time out at Ibrox, Rangers dominated that area, and Neil Lennon more than anyone will have recognised that. To me, having played and managed in Old Firm games, it isn’t always the definitive factor, but this time around I think it will be.

That’s why I think the Celtic manager will go with a midfield of Scott Brown, Callum McGregor and Olivier Ntcham with Ryan Christie pushed further forward.

That midfield three is capable of dominating that area, setting the tone for the rest of the team. They will be able to compete physically and the ability to dominate your immediate opponent is going to be a big factor in this game.

Ryan Jack, Steven Davis and Joe Aribo have started the season well in the Rangers midfield, and they will fancy their chances too, so that’s why I feel it is imperative that Celtic’s captain starts the game.

I know there is a school of thought that Celtic play their most fluent football when McGregor takes on that deeper-lying role, but Brown’s presence is such that he is an absolute certainty to be starting and I think that’s the right call.

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With those three in midfield and with James Forrest, Ryan Christie and Odsonne Edoaurd ahead of them, that’s starting to take the shape of a pretty formidable line-up already.

At the back, a lot will depend on the fitness of Jozo Simunovic and Kristoffer Ajer. Christopher Jullien did well during the week and it is good to see him getting up to speed at last. I would imagine that if everyone is fit barring Hatem Abd Elhamed, it will be Ajer at right-back, Jullien and Simunovic in the middle, with Boli Bolingoli at left-back.

The whole occasion will be a test for both Jullien and Bolingoli, because it will be something that they will never have experienced before. If they come through it, it will not only have an outcome on the game, but it could lay down a really positive marker for their future Celtic careers.

The only real concern there is Bolingoli but playing him is still a better option than taking McGregor out of the midfield. The full-back has had a rough ride of it so far since coming to Celtic, and he gave away a penalty during the week against AIK after getting caught wrong side of his man.

Poor positional play has been a feature of his game since he arrived. He looks a really good athlete and he certainly gets up in support of the attack, but he has a lot of work to do on the defensive side of his game and he has to rectify that. He has been caught out a few times like that now, and his positional sense is letting him down.

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Overall though, what will give Celtic confidence going into the game is how they were able to go to Sweden on Thursday night and come away with such an emphatic result over AIK. That wasn’t an easy place to go, but the scoreline make it look that way.

If you were to push me on a prediction, I think the game has all the makings of a score draw. Both teams will desperately want to win of course, but the desire not to be beaten will be just as strong.

Neither team will be playing for a draw, but with both teams having started well, both having made the Europa League group stages and both banging the goals in, I think a thriller that ends with the spoils being shared is the most likely outcome.