The Tactical Plan Celtic Need to Beat Rangers on Sunday

Celtic must find a new solution to the problems Rangers exposed at Ibrox

Celtic have only a few days to work out how they can respond to the weaknesses Rangers exploited in Sunday’s 3-0 Premier Sports Cup victory.

Martin O’Neill has an immediate chance to turn things around when the sides meet again at Celtic Park this weekend, and UEFA A Licence coach and analyst John Walker believes a major part of the answer lies in how Celtic move when they have possession.

Walker’s detailed review of the Ibrox defeat highlighted Celtic’s lack of movement and the ease with which Rangers were able to contain them.

One of the biggest issues was the number of Celtic players taking up similar positions, particularly on the left flank.

Kieran Tierney, Mika Baur and Sebastian Tounekti frequently found themselves operating in the same area, allowing Rangers to stay compact and prevent Celtic from progressing through that side.

Walker believes Celtic could make life considerably more difficult for Rangers by changing the way their full-backs operate.

Instead of Tierney consistently staying wide and behind the ball, the former Arsenal defender could be encouraged to step inside and move into midfield at the right moments.

That movement would potentially open a passing lane for Liam Scales to find Tounekti while also creating a dilemma for Rangers over whether Tierney should be followed.

However, Walker’s point is not simply about adding another midfielder to Celtic’s structure. The timing of the movement is equally important.

Celtic repeatedly waited too long before making their forward runs at Ibrox, meaning opportunities to play through Rangers had already disappeared by the time the movement came.

As a result, possession was frequently recycled backwards towards Sam Johnstone instead of being used to break through the first line of pressure.

Walker summed up Celtic’s difficulty by saying: “There’s no way to get out.”

There was at least one indication of what Celtic could do differently on the other side of the pitch.

Walker pointed to Colby Donovan’s willingness to move inside and take up a more advanced midfield position as an example of the kind of movement Celtic could use to disrupt Rangers’ pressing structure.

The challenge for O’Neill is now to turn those occasional movements into a deliberate part of Celtic’s game plan.

Walker was particularly critical of Celtic’s approach, describing them as “too slow, too passive” and suggesting they repeatedly played into Rangers’ hands without enough attacking intent.

That is one of the biggest areas O’Neill must address before Sunday.

Rangers will head to Celtic Park with confidence that the strategy which worked so effectively at Ibrox can cause similar problems again.

Simply moving the ball faster while maintaining the same structure is unlikely to be enough.

Celtic need improved spacing, more effective rotations and, crucially, players making their movements before the pass becomes available rather than after the opportunity has gone.

The response after losing possession is another area that requires attention.

Walker also felt Rangers’ second goal highlighted a separate weakness in Celtic’s performance, particularly their ability to recover quickly when possession was lost.

As he put it: “Celtic also don’t have the legs to recover as far as I’m concerned.”

Here’s a fully original paraphrase that keeps the same analytical tone:

That could put Celtic’s midfield choices firmly back under the spotlight before Sunday’s rematch.

The Hoops must find a way to provide Callum McGregor with greater support while still maintaining enough movement and passing options to play through Rangers’ defensive structure.

The defeat at Ibrox demonstrated the problems Celtic can face when their approach becomes too predictable.

Walker’s analysis suggests the full-backs will have an important role to play this time around, with more aggressive positioning and earlier forward runs potentially giving Rangers a completely different problem to deal with.