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Graeme Young

Kris Commons convinced 'flaky' Rangers will struggle to cope with Celtic firepower

Confident Kris Commons is convinced Celtic's time is now as they aim to leapfrog Rangers in the race for title glory.

The former Parkhead star admits Ange Postecoglou 's side have him believing once again – eight months after the Ibrox side romped to Premiership glory by 25 points.

But there's only two points in it now and Celtic can go top if they see of their great rivals on home turf under the lights on Wednesday.

Rangers were left reeling at the weekend after Allan McGregor's pair of errors cost them in the 3-3 draw at Ross County.

Celtic then compounded the Ibrox side's very bad day by scoring a last-gasp winner to sink Dundee United.

And Commons believes his former team are in a good place heading into the match.

Speaking in his Daily Mail column, he said: "I believe Van Bronckhorst would bite your hand off right now if you offered him a point.

"Why? Because there is a flakiness and a fragility to Rangers at the moment which has been evident for much of the season.

"We saw it back at the start of August, when 10-man Malmo came from a goal down at Ibrox to dump them out of the Champions League qualifiers.

"We saw it when Hibs went 3-0 up after little more than half an hour of the League Cup semi-final at Hampden in November.

"And we saw it again on Saturday with the concession of three utterly calamitous goals in the 3-3 draw with Ross County.

"After conceding just 13 goals in 38 games across last season's unbeaten campaign, there was always a feeling that Rangers might struggle to replicate those sort of incredible numbers.

"But, by the same token, nor should there be an acceptance of mediocrity and sub-standard defending. This time around, they've already conceded 18 goals in 23 games thus far.

Ross County's Matthew Wright celebrates scoring their side's third goal of the game against Rangers (PA)

"That's a huge difference and it's pretty clear to me that the likes of Allan McGregor and Connor Goldson to name a couple just aren't operating at the same level as last season.

"That's as poor a performance as I can remember from McGregor on Saturday, two howlers which led directly to two County goals.

"He turns 40 today and had set the bar at an almost impossibly high standard for himself over the past couple of years with some truly remarkable saves for Rangers.

"But he's not been at the races this season. That performance on Saturday had been coming for a few months.

"The same applies to Goldson, who has been dragging his heels for months over a new contract whilst making some ill-advised comments about a 'loss of hunger' following the loss to Hibs."

Commons insists, despite the likes of Kyogo and Tom Rogic absent, the home team have enough danger men to get the better of Rangers.

And the former Scotland international is quick to point out the Premiership champions will also be forced to deal with a host of new faces for the first time.

He added: "Despite the fact they could be missing half a team, I still expect them to have too much firepower for Rangers.

"Celtic's pace and movement up front is frightening at times. Jota has been a revelation in that respect, and Abada has also been superb since joining the club in the summer.

"Reo Hatate looks to be an outstanding technician in the middle of the park. It will be fascinating to see how he handles his first taste of the Old Firm derby.

"The same applies to Jota, Matt O'Riley, Giorgos Giakoumakis and Cameron Carter-Vickers. None of these guys were in the building when Celtic lost 1-0 at Ibrox back at the end of August.

"There's a chance Celtic could have five Old Firm debutants in their team on Wednesday night. How they handle the pressure and the atmosphere will be key to a positive outcome."

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