The first big derby of the year will be played in Glasgow today, where Old Firm rivals Rangers and Celtic write another chapter of the old rivalry. The Glasgow giants meet at Ibrox, with the visitors aiming to extend their lead in the Scottish Premiership to double figures while their hosts seek a fifth straight win to narrow the gap.The rivalry between the two Glaswegian giants is a fierce one. Centuries of sectarian hatred, footballing rivalry and the supporters’ fervent support all leave their mark on the players.Late Christmas present tomorrow please @James_Tavernier pic.twitter.com/B5jG8a5f6g— Tavernier Central (@TavCentral) January 1, 2023 Speaking ahead of the game, Rangers’ captain James Tavernier admitted that losing to Celtic make him feel like he was going to die. Tavernier is a veteran of 27 of these dust-ups now. His record of eight wins, 17 losses and two draws might not make the best of reading, but in there was a run of eight without defeat on the way to wrestling the title back to Ibrox and killing Celtic’s bid to win ten titles in a row. There have also been a couple of painful losses in recent seasons, though, with 3-0 and 4-0 reverses leaving a mark on the Gers.”I’d say, especially in the first few games, you hear all the noise around the game and you don’t really know what to expect, so you build it up as the absolute biggest game. If you lose, you feel like you are going to die. It is one of those you never want to lose, regardless. It’s something I’ve been able to control over the years.”##NAJAVA_MECA_6916329##Tavernier knows Rangers can’t get caught cold like they were at Celtic Park in September when Celts swept them aside in the 4-0 win.”The performance that we put up in the last derby wasn’t good enough at all and it is obviously something we need to rectify.”🎙️ James Tavernier spoke to the media ahead of Monday’s Old Firm match. pic.twitter.com/XVT7cEMkBr— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) December 30, 2022 Rangers looked like the best team in Scotland in the latter part of the 2021/22 season. They reached the Europa League final, beating teams like Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade and RB Leipzig on the way. But something went wrong, leaving coach Giovanni Van Bronckhorst jobless. His successor Michael Beale is only starting to get the best out of the squad he inherited. Tavernier wants to keep that going in the most crucial game.”Six or seven months ago, we were in a European final and we have only lost a few players out of that squad. We have got more players in the squad so we know the heights that we can get to. We have recently shown real grit and determination to go into games and get the wins we needed.”Rangers are not the favourites, but they must act as if they are – if they want to keep the title race alive.SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIPMonday15.30: (3.15) Rangers (3.45) Celtic (2.25)18.00: (2.60) Kilmarnock (3.10) St.Mirren (2.85)18.00: (2.25) Hearts (3.40) Hibernian (3.20)18.00: (2.85) Livingston (3.10) Motherwell (2.60)18.00: (2.30) St.Johnstone (3.20) Dundee Utd. (3.25)18.00: (1.62) Aberdeen (3.80) Ross County (5.90)***odds are subject to change
