Scottish Premier League: Celtic v Rangers, Charlie Reilly and Derek McInnes

The meeting of the two best teams in Glasgow usually tops the Scottish fixture list, but Saturday’s encounter at Celtic Park packs a special punch.

Under new coach Wilfried Nancy, Celtic have lost five of their past seven matches, three of which came in the league.

This has left the reigning Premier League champions on a five-game losing streak in the division at the halfway stage.

The French coach leads his team for the first time against Rangers, who are three points behind Celtic.

Rangers, under Danny Ruhl, have won eight and drawn two in the league – with the Ibrox side’s draws at the start of the season under Russell Martin meaning there is still a gap with Celtic and a six-point distance from leaders Hearts.

The German captained his relatively new side once against Celtic, losing to Martin O’Neill’s side 3-1 in extra time in the Premier League Cup semi-final in November.

What makes Saturday’s clash particularly urgent is the need for both teams to stay as close to Hearts as possible. Any points dropped will allow Derek McInnes’ side the opportunity to unlock an even more impressive advantage.

And let’s not forget Motherwell and Hibernian, both of whom are within striking distance of the Glasgow duo, although they have played a game more.

Interesting derby.