Celtic suffer another huge blow ahead of clash v Rangers
Celtic have suffered another huge blow ahead of Saturday’s clash against Rangers after being knocked back by the Scottish government over Ryan Christie.
Celtic had requested Christie be available for the early kick-off on Saturday even though he has been self-isolating after being in close contact with Stuart Armstrong.
Armstrong tested positive for Coronavirus on international duty.
They had hoped a precedent in England, with Arsenal star Kieran Tierney set to play for Arsenal despite also self-isolating, would see Christie cleared for the game.
However, the Scottish government have confirmed in a statement that this won’t happen.
They said, “Our national guidance in Scotland is clear – if you are identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for coronavirus (Covid-19), you will be asked to self-isolate immediately for 14 days.”
The news of Christie comes on the back of a tumultuous international break for Celtic, when they also found out Odsonne Edouard had tested positive for Coronavirus in the France Under-21 camp.
This is yet another blow for Celtic, who are already facing being without striker Odsonne Edouard.
He could make the game but is highly unlikely to start or be anywhere near match fit after testing positive. Lennon described him as “tired and isolated” on Friday.
Alfredo Morelos should be good to start the game after Gerrard described him as “fine” after he arrived back from his epic 1,600-mile journey on Thursday.
With Celtic’s other Covid-related problems, Rangers have actually now been priced as the favourites to win at Celtic Park today by some UK bookies – that’s the first time in a long time that Celtic have gone into a home Old Firm game as the underdogs.
Ibrox News columnist Alex McLeish thinks Rangers will come out on top in a close game, predicting a 1-0 win for Steven Gerrard’s men.
A win for Rangers would see them move four points ahead of Celtic at the top of the Premiership.
In other Rangers news, ‘Celtic have got problems’ – Exclusive: McLeish predicts score in massive Celtic v Rangers clash