Neil Lennon has fired Rangers boss Philippe Clement a warning ahead of this weekend's derby showdown insisting the Belgian is in for a shock.
The Ibrox boss has produced a fine turnaround at his new club since taking over from Michael Beale, but this Saturday he is set to sample his first taste of Scotland's biggest derby.
Former Celtic manager Lennon has been impressed by Clement this season so far but he also knows the pressures he will be facing heading into this weekend's fixture.
He told Ladbrokes Fanzone: "I think Celtic will win on Saturday; I think they'll see a lot of the ball, I think they'll dominate possession. They'll have to worry about Rangers on the counter-attack, and defend pretty well whenever certain players push on. Free-kicks, and corners, all of those areas, they'll need to be sharp in their defending. But I think Celtic will win the game 2-1.
"I just think that, at home, and with the magnitude of the game... I'm expecting all of the big players to turn up to the occasion. I respect Rangers; I think Philippe Clement has done a tremendous job. But he hasn't faced a derby at Celtic Park yet, and that is a little bit different to anything else he would've experienced.
"It's a really difficult time for a player at Celtic or Rangers; you've got so many fixtures coming thick and fast, but you know the big one is coming at the end of the month. But you have to take care of other business throughout December. Celtic have been under immense scrutiny all season, so they're used to it. I think that this current Rangers team, under the spotlight, struggles to deal with things a little bit. It's really important that you don't take your eye off the ball.
"People outside of the clubs, outside of the changing rooms, expect Celtic and Rangers to win all of their games, and so these meetings are often considered the title-deciders. It doesn't always happen that way, though. There are so many obstacles that come in the month of December, and then you've got this huge one at the end of the month.
"My first game against Rangers, for Celtic, was just a blur, to be honest with you. We played against them twice in just a few days and, yeah, that first one on the Wednesday seemed to go 100 miles an hour, it was so physical and so fast. We won that one, and then, going into the second one, I was far more prepared for it.
"And then, obviously, as a manager, the wins are so special. We had a few wins at Ibrox, and a couple of comfortable victories at home as well. The place was absolutely rocking. There's not really a standout derby for me, from my time as a player or a manager; each one was important as the next, and there's none more important than the one coming up for the players on Saturday."
