What Philippe Clement and Rangers must do to beat Celtic at Parkhead

Brendan Rodgers has got key men Cameron Carter-Vickers, Reo Hatate and Callum McGregor back from injury in recent weeks and Kyogo Furuhashi is, after a spell of indifferent from, looking much more like his old self again.

The defending champions have also won two and drawn one of the three Old Firm games which have been played so far this season and will be roared on by every person in the 58,000-strong crowd. They are rightly favourites.

Rangers, who have been missing Oscar Cortes, Danilo, Connor Goldson, Ryan Jack, Rabbi Matondo and Abdallah Simah of late and who will not have anyone inside the ground cheering them, have their work cut out getting a result that keeps their hopes of lifting the cinch Premiership trophy alive.

READ MORE: Brian Graham slams Joey Barton and calls for action over online abuse

But nothing is impossible. Philippe Clement is an experienced manager who has been in this sort of situation on numerous occasions in his coaching career. He oversaw a 3-2 triumph over Real Betis in Spain in a vital Europa League match back in December when the heat was well and truly on.

The Belgian, then, is more than capable of engineering a shock win, even with his depleted squad. But how exactly does he pull that off? Here are five things he and his team must do.

Start Ridvan Yilmaz

The Turkish left back has been a huge loss since he suffered an unspecified injury on international duty back in March. He had been one of Rangers’ most consistent and influential performers up until that point. Not having him involved unquestionably contributed to the defeat to Ross County and draw with Dundee.

His understudy Borna Barisic is a veteran of numerous derby encounters and will not be fazed by the hostile atmosphere inside Celtic Park if he is named in the starting line-up. But the Croatian looks certain to depart in the summer. What frame of mind will he be in if he is given the nod?

He became involved in a set-to with a young supporter following the 4-1 win over Kilmarnock at Ibrox on Sunday afternoon. It will help the visitors’ cause if Yilmaz, who made his return to action when he came off the bench at the weekend, is fit enough to start.

Play for 90 minutes

Clement was appalled at how Rangers acquitted themselves in the first half of their Premiership game against Celtic at Ibrox last month. It was the worst 45 minutes of football they have produced since the former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco manager was appointed back in October. They were lucky to only concede two goals.

READ MORE: Celtic captain McGregor throws down gauntlet to Rangers

Whatever Big Phil said to James Tavernier and his team mates in the dressing room at half-time had the desired impact. The hosts were vastly-improved in the second-half and ground out a 3-3 draw. The Govan outfit can ill afford a repeat of their no show. They must be bang at it from kick-off or they will pay a high price. 

Pose an aerial threat

Carter-Vickers, the best Celtic centre half since Virgil van Dijk, has made a huge difference to the Parkhead club since returning from an injury lay-off back in February. But Rodgers’ rearguard is, even with the United States internationalist at the heart of it, far from infallible. Not least at crosses.

That was evident in their Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen at Hampden last month. They failed to deal with deliveries into their six yard box twice and allowed first Ester Sokler and then Angus MacDonald to score almost identical headed goals at the back post. 

Do Rangers have anyone who can beat Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales in the air? That is debatable. But if they can get on the end of high balls into the opposition area they can cause their hosts all kind of problems. 

Shoot in front of goal!

Cyriel Dessers may have plundered 20 goals at home and abroad since being signed by Rangers from Italian club Cremonese for £4.5m back in July. But the Nigerian internationalist continues to frustrate and delight Ibrox supporters in equal measure.

Dessers very much did the former against Kilmarnock on Sunday. He only had the keeper to beat on a couple of occasions and chose to take an extra touch instead of just putting his laces through the ball. He has a costly tendency to be over-elaborate on occasion.

That was certainly the case on his last visit to Parkhead back in December. He had an opportunity to open his account in the world-famous fixture in the first-half when he was clean through on Joe Hart, but chose, for reasons best known to himself, not to pull the trigger. 

READ MORE: Rangers boss Clement makes four-man SFWA manager of the year shortlist

Dessers should, due to the lack of options available to Clement, start up front tomorrow. He needs to have his shooting boots on.

Block out of the crowd

Parkhead will be bouncing tomorrow when referee Willie Collum blows his whistle for the start of the game. If Rangers allow Celtic to get their noses in front early on it will crank the decibel levels up further and make their task even more arduous. Shutting up shop at the back is of paramount importance to their chances.

This Ibrox side has been accused of lacking backbone on numerous occasions over the past few years. Often with very good reason. Yes, they have had some exceptional results at difficult places in continental competition. But they have been found wanting in derby games more often than not.

Tavernier and Co have to show they can handle the heat, can shut out the noise, can play to their best, in front of tens of thousands of Celtic fans if they want to be crowned champions seven days later.