Borna Barisic should bury ghost of Celtic after ‘sublime’ Rangers display under Michael Beale
Rangers will have a chance to close the gap with Celtic to six points if they pick up a win at Ibrox on Monday (2 January) in the Scottish Premiership.
The Bears will head into this game will full confidence after picking up four wins in a row.
The last time the two sides met in the league, Celtic humiliated the Bears with a 4-0 win, but this time the expectations are different.
One player who should be looking for redemption is Borna Barisic.
The Croatian left-back produced a shocking performance last season at Celtic Park where they lost 3-0. He was also awful in the first meeting between the two sides this season.
It felt like Barisic was carrying the ghost of Celtic and it reflects in his game. The confidence simply evaporates and he looks lost in the middle.
This is a big chance for him to bury the ghost after producing a stunning performance in the 3-0 win against Motherwell on Wednesday (28 December).
Barisic provided two delicious deliveries for Alfredo Morelos and Connor Goldson, and he was selected as the Man of the Match by The Daily Record (29 December).
He played a fringe role for Croatia during the World Cup, and there were even calls for Adam Devine to be included ahead of him.
But Barisic looked refreshed and full of energy as he laid on goals for both Morelos and Goldson. Andy Newport of The Daily Record hailed his performance as “sublime”.
Barisic is expected to start against Celtic and he should be looking for atonement with another stellar performance under Beale.
In other Rangers news, a £5million twist has emerged in Southampton’s bid to sign Ryan Kent.