Saturday's Old Firm provides Rangers with their final opportunity to avoid a season without victory over Celtic. 

It’s been a hugely disappointing campaign but the Ibrox showdown will allow a number of players to stake their claim ahead of next season.

Michael Beale will oversee a squad overhaul this summer and finishing above Celtic will, as always, be the target.

Beale’s tactical plan to nullify Celtic’s significant attacking threat has been relatively effective in recent encounters - especially the Scottish Cup semi-final - but unfathomable individual errors have proved costly. 

Rangers have conceded 12 goals in five games against Celtic this season but more focus should be applied to the eight goals conceded in four games since Beale replaced Giovanni van Bronckhorst. 

Four of those have resulted from catastrophic individual errors; Alfredo Morelos’ slack pass in the 2-2 draw at Ibrox, Ben Davies and John Souttar in the 3-2 defeat at Parkhead and a number of players inexcusably switching off at Hampden last month.

Beale's side need to improve defensively to beat Celtic on Saturday because conceding two goals - the average in these games per game under Beale - isn’t conducive to success, especially given the well-documented issues at centre-forward. 

So how do Rangers go about restricting Celtic’s attacking threat? The Rangers Review has examined the footage from every Old Firm goal conceded this season, analysed the numbers and Celtic’s patterns of play to identify key characteristics. 

Kyogo Furuhashi - the dangerman

After failing to score against Rangers last season, Kyogo has been the thorn in Beale’s side and remains Celtic’s biggest threat. 

He has scored five of the eight goals that Rangers have conceded to Celtic under Beale and is an integral part of Ange Postecoglou’s plans. 

He is, however, an injury doubt ahead of Saturday. That's unlikely to significantly alter Celtic’s patterns of play, however.

Kyogo has netted 30 goals in all competitions this campaign, including 24 in the league. 

His intelligent movement is arguably his biggest strength and he’s punished Rangers this season with his ability to find space in the penalty box. 

Two-thirds of Kyogo’s goals this season have been scored within twelve yards, with half of them culminating from crosses - a feature of Celtic’s attacking play. 

Kyogo is seldom involved in build-up play, often choosing to stand in an offside position to occupy the centre-back’s attention. Poised to capitalise, often from a cross, when Celtic transition in wide areas. 

Celtic’s attacking patterns - half spaces and penetrating midfield runs

The fact that Celtic have scored 105 league goals - 23 more than Rangers - is testament to the different threats they pose as an attacking unit. 

Much is made of Postecoglou’s preference for inverted full-backs when progressing the ball from defence, but Celtic’s running beyond the striker from their midfielders is a massive part of their attacking play in the final third. 

Celtic’s wingers in Postecoglou’s 4-3-3 formation often stay high and wide, to create space for their two advanced midfielders to run beyond centrally.

Callum McGregor dictates play from deep, with the two full-backs providing passing options and that allows two of Reo Hatate, Matt O’Riley or Aaron Mooy a licence to get forward. 

READ MORE: History will be kind to barnstorming Alfredo Morelos. 

Celtic regularly score from a central midfielder running beyond the furthest attacker before delivering a cut-back or drilled cross for a teammate - usually Kyogo - to score. 

Mooy, O’Riley and Hatate have all provided assists from making those runs against Rangers this season. 

Celtic 4 Rangers 0 

Celtic’s first goal against of the season stems from O’Riley running beyond the Rangers defence, with James Tavernier and Ryan Kent switching off from Jota’s quick throw. 

O’Riley penetrates the half-space and cuts the ball back for Liel Abada to fire home. Four Rangers players are distracted by Giorgos Giakoumakis and focus on the ball, leaving Abada completely unmarked to tap home. 

Kent, Glen Kamara and John Lundstram were guilty of switching off as Callum McGregor took a quick free-kick, which resulted in the second goal with Jota attacking the space behind Connor Goldson. 

Their third on the day featured similar themes. A low cut-back cross led to a goal but with Greg Taylor, rather than a central midfielder, providing the assist. 

Here, McGregor and Taylor visibly point to the space behind the Rangers defence and the ball is cut back for Abada to score his second.

Rangers' defensive shape is completely disorganised as Borna Barisic follows Giakoumakis - rather than passing him onto Goldson - which leaves James Sands at left-back and ball-watching as Abada moves off him to score. 

Rangers 2 Celtic 2 

Rangers were punished for another individual error early on in Beale’s first Old Firm as manager. Morelos, dropping deep, plays a dangerous pass across the pitch that's intercepted by Daizen Maeda, who races clear to score.

Celtic's second is a typical pattern of play. Mooy runs beyond to collect Jota’s pass and attacks the space vacated by Tavernier’s high position. Ryan Jack allows Mooy to run off him and doesn’t win the subsequent tackle.

It’s not a clean cut back to Kyogo as the ball rebounds off a few players in the box but it falls to the Japanese striker completely unmarked in the box. The goal denied Rangers a massive win and it was a terrible one to concede with nine outfield Rangers players in the box - yet not one picked up Celtic’s most important man. 

Rangers 1 Celtic 2 

For Celtic’s opener, Mooy showcases his intelligence to stand still in the half-space and receive possession. Kamara is guilty of completely leaving him and that’s incredibly costly as Mooy's presence attracts Goldson’s attention. 

The ball is fed to Taylor wide with Goldson out of position, leaving Davies stuck with two men to pick up. It results in Kyogo being left unmarked a few yards out to tap home after Maeda initially fails to connect.

Mooy was hugely influential in the League Cup final and for Celtic’s second goal he, again, collected the ball in a dangerous area beyond the Rangers midfield. 

Malik Tillman’s challenge is weak, which allows Mooy to escape with Hatate making the typical penetrating run behind the Rangers defence and it’s a simple squared ball across goal for Kyogo to finish.

Celtic 3 Rangers 2 

Celtic’s first goal stems here from a lack of organisation and communication. The home side's movement drags players out of position and it ends with a typical goal from Kyogo. 

Davies is tracking Kyogo but he points to O’Riley in a dangerous position behind the Rangers midfield. Jack notices him but by the time Souttar steps up, it's too late.

He collects the ball and moves beyond the Rangers defence, Souttar is badly dragged out of position as if to compensate for not initially picking up O’Riley and Kyogo peels off Davies to score. 

Rangers have struggled for a settled back four this season and these communication and organisational issues would be more preventable when players have a better understanding from playing together. 

Davies and Souttar made terrible individual errors for Celtic’s second and third goals on the day, which ultimately cost Rangers the game.

Rangers 0 Celtic 1 

Probably the most analysed and talked about goal that Rangers have conceded this season. 

Barisic, Lundstram, Kent and Nicolas Raskin are guilty of a fundamental error by not playing to the whistle. The trio wait for the referee’s whistle after a collision between Raskin and O’Riley but it doesn’t arrive and Maeda reacts quickest. 

A common criticism of the Rangers defence is that they’re susceptible to conceding from crosses to the back post and this goal was a legitimate example as James Tavernier doesn’t scan and pick up Jota’s run behind him. 

To what extent will Celtic be impacted if Kyogo misses out?

Kyogo’s involvement at Ibrox is in jeopardy due to a recurrence of a shoulder injury. If he misses out, Oh will deputise and the South Korean’s characteristics will pose a slightly different threat. 

He is physically superior to Kyogo and his attributes are more comparable to former Celtic striker Giakoumakis. However, Oh’s involvement won’t significantly impact Celtic’s patterns of play and that was evident last weekend against Hearts. 

Kyogo opened the scoring at Tynecastle in familiar fashion with a close-range finish after Hatate’s third-man run. Hatate ran beyond the Hearts defence and he was found by a long pass from McGregor, before squaring for Kyogo to bundle home.

But it’s Celtic’s second goal against Hearts on Sunday which reinforces that Postecoglou’s side will commit to similar patterns of play if Kyogo misses out. 

Oh’s goal is a carbon copy of so many of Kyogo’s strikes this season. Mooy attacks the space behind the Hearts defence and is found by Haksabanovic and Oh's movement creates a yard ahead of Kye Rowles to finish from close range. 

The season may be over but no Old Firm is meaningless, and Beale will know a win would do him no harm.

Regardless of who starts up front for Celtic, it’s imperative that Rangers are organised, communicate well and track the dangerous runs from midfield. Only then will victory follow.