MASSIMO DONATI believes that Celtic have an advantage over their rivals heading into the third Glasgow Derby of the season.
Heading into the match, Celtic sit three points clear at the top of the table and 11 goals to the good. On the other hand, Van bronkhorst’s side are on a great run in Europe overcoming Borussia Dortmund and Red Star Belgrade to get to the quarter-final of the Europa League
The league has the potential to be like it was in the Italian’s first season in Glasgow. In the 2007/08 season, the league went right to the wire with Celtic sealing it on the last game of the season. With just three points separating the sides, and the split on the horizon, this season has the potential to mirror the campaign.
Speaking about the Rangers’ European run, Donati believes Celtic have the advantage over their rivals who will have to battle mentally and physically on three fronts as the season enters the business end. [Daily Record]
“It will help Celtic this season like it did our team when Rangers went all the way to the UEFA Cup final.
It will be a bigger challenge for Rangers because they have the same domestic games as Celtic but then they will also have European games on top of that. That’s a big challenge.
“The European games take a lot out of you physically and mentally and it gets tougher and tougher the further you go in these competitions.
“The Italian teams have the same problems when they have to play midweek, weekend and midweek again. That’s why I think Celtic have the advantage.
“Celtic need to approach it the same way as we did. They just need to stay focused, win their games and forget about everything else, then everything else will take care of itself.”
Sunday’s match is set to be a thrilling encounter with both teams on a great run of form. The priority is to win Sunday’s match before looking ahead.
