Convinced Kris Commons believes there's a compelling case not one Rangers player would get into the current Celtic team.
The Ibrox side are 18 months removed from the quickest title win in Scottish football history but know defeat on Monday will have their rivals on the brink of a second consecutive Premiership triumph. Michael Beale will take on Ange Postecoglou in his first derby in the big seat. The 42-year-old has experience of the fixture when he served as Steven Gerrard's lieutenant and left QPR to return to his former club last month.
But Commons senses a different Cetic team and a brutal reality may unfold in front of Beale's eyes as he faces up to Postecoglou and a side which has only lost Premiership fixture in the past 15 months. Speaking in his Daily Mail column, he said: "I know Rangers have had clean sheets in their last two games. But, with all due respect, those came against Ross County and Motherwell. Celtic are playing football on a different planet to those sort of teams and will ask questions of Rangers which I don't believe Beale's side are capable of answering.
"Listen, Beale will have come into this with his eyes wide open. He will be fully aware of the size of the rebuild that is facing him at Ibrox. But, if anyone has any doubt, ask yourself one simple question: How many current Rangers players would get into the Celtic team? You would have to say none. I don't think you can make a conclusive case for any of them.
"At the very most, there's maybe a couple of 50-50s. Maybe you'd take Connor Goldson ahead of Carl Starfelt, but Goldson has been miles off it since Rangers won the league. Likewise, you could maybe make a case for Borna Barisic ahead of Greg Taylor at left-back. Even that feels like a bit of a stretch. Barisic has a habit of being posted missing in these Old Firm games, while Taylor has been one of the most improved players in the country over the past year or so. Other than that, there's no one in this Rangers squad who would get anywhere near the Celtic team.
"If you were picking a combined XI, the full midfield and forward line would be wearing green and white. Ryan Kent ahead of Jota? Don't make me laugh. I've said it before this season Jota is the player Ryan Kent dreams of being. Kent is a show pony who too often flatters to deceive. His end product is woeful for a player who cost Rangers £7million. To be honest, Celtic could probably field two entirely different midfields who would still be better than Rangers' first-choice trio.
"Rangers are so slow and pedestrian in the middle of the park. They lack ideas and creativity and that's where I expect Celtic to expose them this afternoon. Beale has an ageing team on his hands and Celtic have all the firepower to turn this into a major reality check for the new Rangers boss this afternoon. This could be the day when the gulf between these teams becomes abundantly clear for Beale. If Celtic play their best stuff, they'll cruise to victory."
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