Graeme Hanna

Mon 3 April 2023 9:10, UK

Michael Stewart has put forward what he believes will be the game-changer next Saturday when Rangers go to Parkhead to face Celtic in the third Old Firm meeting of the current Premiership season.

With a specific mention of the Rangers duo Todd Cantwell and Malik Tillman, he has made a bold claim but it is one that has some merit.

Stewart insisted that the Celtic midfield will prove to be too much for Michael Beale’s team with a prediction that the gap will be extended to 12 points next weekend, writing off Rangers’ chances of securing a crucial victory.

Speaking on BBC Sportscene [02 April], Stewart singled out the midfield which could turn out to be the real difference in the derby next weekend.

“You look at the players they’ve got,” he said.

“The likes of Cantwell and Tillman aren’t intense players and when they come up against the likes of Hatate, McGregor and whoever else in midfield.

“Those sorts of players, for me, when you go like-for-like, is when they get the upper hand. You look at the cup final, the first goal, coming down that side where Tillman was playing, overloads off the back of him.

“Fine margins are the difference and I just think Celtic have that over Rangers, in particular at home. Will it be a 4-0? I’d be surprised, but I would be even more surprised if Rangers were coming away with victory.”

Expectation

Stewart is no stranger to controversy or an adversarial comment when it comes to Rangers, nor is it any shock that he strongly fancies Celtic to record another Old Firm win. The context of this game within the season and the league table speaks for itself.

He is right when he alludes to Tillman and a lack of intensity, particularly in this fixture.

The USMNT international underlined his credentials with a strong individual performance as he secured both goals in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Dundee United but the real challenge is to bring that kind of impact onto the Old Firm stage when it really matters.

Stewart rightly points out Tillman’s disappointing showing in February’s League Cup final, albeit off the back of an injury, whilst he was also on the edges of the two previous derby matches earlier in the season. The player himself will be aware that he needs to deliver.

However, Stewart is misplaced to suggest Cantwell doesn’t have the required skillset in the rough and tumble of the Old Firm. The former Norwich man has impressed off the ball, as much as on it, in his early days at Ibrox.

It was a controversial decision for Beale to omit him from the team for the recent final, along with Nico Raskin, but that will not be replicated at the weekend.

Both players, for different reasons, will go into the Old Firm clash with plenty to prove. The expectation needs to be met in a game that is a must-win for Rangers to retain any slim title hopes but at the very least a strong performance must be delivered on the back of recent failings at Parkhead as well as the upcoming Scottish Cup semi-final.

In other Rangers news, the Bears have been handed a major Old Firm boost as this Celtic ace suffers new injury.