Matthew Lindsay: Rangers have a chance - but resurgent Celtic will look to assert their superiority

Yet, Mark Warburton’s side were, by comment consent, by far the better team over the course of the 120 minutes and thoroughly deserving of their triumph.

Read more: Rodgers backs Celtic skipper Brown to keep his cool in Old Firm contest with Rangers rival Barton

So there is no doubt that, despite the Parkhead club once again being widely tipped to prevail in the first Ladbrokes Premiership match of the season between the ancient adversaries this afternoon, their Ibrox counterparts could spring a surprise.

But there are significant differences in both Celtic and Rangers since that meeting back in April which make the pre-match predictions of a home win, and a home win by a comfortable margin, appear sagacious.

Read more: Only Celtic victory will take Rangers to journey's end for striker Miller

Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, the Scottish champions have a different man in charge. Ronny Deila was popular with supporters and the media alike and was certainly passionate about his role. But he was also hopelessly out of his depth.

The defeat his side suffered to Rangers was as much due to his shortcomings as a coach as it was the failure of his charges to perform. There were few tears shed, apart from perhaps on the other side of the city, when he announced he would be standing down the following week.

Brendan Rodgers, having been in charge at Barclays Premier League clubs Swansea City and Liverpool for a total of five years, is quite at ease with the considerable demands, expectations and pressures of the position he currently occupies.

What is more, he has once again shown himself to be an astute coach. Qualification for the Champions League group stages has been secured for the first time in three years. His team is a point clear at the top of the Premiership despite having played a game less than their fellow contenders. Some of the football they have played in their opening games, too, has been nothing short of sensational.

Rodgers has strengthened his team considerably. It is fair to say that having Kolo Toure, the vastly-experienced former Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool player, in the centre of defence is a stark improvement on fielding Dedryck Boyata, who was caught out of position at the first goal in the cup semi-final last season before being substituted in the first half.

Further forward, Moussa Dembele, a £500,000 acquisition from Fulham, has looked promising up front and scored some vital goals while Scott Sinclair, a £3.5 million signing from Aston Villa, has already justified the substantial outlay which it took to secure his services.

Celtic already had a wealth of options in the more advanced areas with James Forrest, Tom Rogic, Patrick Roberts and Leigh Griffiths all in the squad. There is pace, invention and goals in abundance in the set-up.

Griffiths, who was forced to pull out of the Scotland squad for the World Cup qualifier against Malta last weekend with a calf strain, is a doubt. Having the man who was top scorer in Scotland last season in the team will boost the home team’s chances of maintaining their winning start

Rangers have also recruited impressively since winning the Ladbrokes Championship at the second time of asking in the summer and finally clinching promotion to the top flight. Household names Joey Barton and Niko Kranjcar, experienced professionals Joe Garner, Matt Gilks, Clint Hill and Lee Hodson and exciting youngsters Matt Crooks, Joe Dodoo, Jordan Rossiter and Josh Windass have all arrived.

That mass influx of players, though, has created problems for the Ibrox club in their early outings in the 2016/17 campaign and is one of the main reasons they are such huge underdogs to win the first league meeting with their Parkhead foes in over four years. The new-look team has failed to gel and is performing unconvincingly.

Barton, who was widely expected to become a leader on the pitch and a playmaker, joined pre-season late due to media commitments at the Euro 2016 finals has only shown flashes of what he is capable of. Kranjcar, meanwhile, has not looked fully fit.

It was anticipated that Celtic would make light work of the Rangers defence, particularly their much-maligned centre backs Rob Kiernan and Danny Wilson, last season given the alarming ease with which opposition teams had scored against them in the second tier. But both men enjoyed excellent afternoons.

However, they were helped by having Dom Ball, the on-loan Spurs centre half, positioned just in front of them as a holding midfielder that day. That sort of solidity is conspicuous by its absence this term. The ease with which Kris Boyd scored for Kilmarnock in their last outing at Rugby Park a fortnight ago highlighted the problems they continue to have at the back.

Warburton fielded Barton and Rossiter in central midfield that evening. It was a static partnership which did not work and which prevented his side from producing their usual brand of devastatingly effective attacking football going forward. He must change the make-up of his starting line-up if they are to rediscover their form. Bringing back Andy Halliday would be a wise move.

Philippe Senderos, the former Arsenal, AC Milan and Sevilla centre half, has been signed and, despite not playing in a competitive game this season, is expected to slot straight into the Rangers team today. If he shows his undoubted quality it will aid his team’s chances of success. If he freezes in what can, even for a player with his track record, be an intimidating atmosphere it will cost his manager dear.

Dorus de Vries, who should start the game in goals for Celtic ahead of Craig Gordon, is another who will have much to prove in a testing environment. It is only his second game since returning to this country to play last month. Will he rise to the occasion? Or will he throw a couple in?

Whatever happens, the Old Firm game will doubtless be compulsive viewing. There are certainly many unsavoury aspects to this fixture. It can frequently turn ugly on the pitch and in the stands. But as a spectacle, both on and off the park, there are very few in European football, never mind British, to touch it. The Scottish game has certainly missed it badly during the last four years and is all the better for its return.