Celtic are in action for the final time this season this afternoon as they travel away from Parkhead to take on their closest rivals at Hampden Park in the SFA Cup final.
The Hoops can win a domestic double by coming out on top in Glasgow today after they secured the Scottish Premiership title earlier this month.
Brendan Rodgers is hoping to land a second trophy of the campaign in what has been a decent return to life at Parkhead, having rejoined the club for a second spell last summer.
The Northern Irish boss must now select his starting XI for the last time this term and it should include Liam Scales, who was on the bench last time out, as he could nullify a key Rangers threat.
Why Liam Scales should start
Stephen Welsh was given an opportunity to showcase his talent against St Mirren in the final game of the Premiership season last weekend and failed to impress.
The central defender had a nightmare in the first half as his poor header sent Toyosi Olusanya through on goal and the Scottish dud then brought the attacker down, which left the referee with no choice but to point to the spot.
Welsh, who lost 62% of his ground duels in the Premiership, then came off with an upper body injury and he should be dropped to the bench in favour of Scales, whether he is available or not.
Appearances
34
Sofascore rating
7.48
Ball recoveries per game
6.1
Ground duel success rate
67%
Aerial duel success rate
61%
Clean sheets
14
As you can see in the table above, the £5k-per-week colossus has been a dominant figure at the heart of the Hoops defence this season, with his impressive success rate in duels on the deck and in the air.
Scales, who offers a naturally left-footed balance when playing out from the back, has won the majority of his battles on the ground, whilst Welsh, conversely, has lost the majority of his.
Why Liam Scales could nullify Rangers threat
Rangers' top scoring attacker in all competitions so far this term is Nigeria international Cyriel Dessers, who has 22 goals – two fewer than defender James Tavernier.
The 29-year-old marksman ended the Premiership campaign with 16 goals and 27 'big chances' missed in 27 starts for the Light Blues, which shows that he scored goals on a regular basis but was also wasteful with the opportunities that were created for him.
Whilst his large number of 'big chances' missed does not suggest that he is a huge threat, you cannot ignore that the former Serie A striker has scored 22 goals this season and could cause problems for Celtic.
However, Dessers has lost a staggering 71% of his ground duels this term and this suggests that Celtic's centre-backs could get the better of him in that regard.
Scales' outstanding success rate in ground battles indicates that he had the physical attributes and positioning to dominate the Rangers striker on the ground.
This could, therefore, help to keep the centre-forward out of the game by stopping him from holding the ball up and playing passes off to teammates, which would then limit the service into him in the box.
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Rodgers must now unleash Scales, who coach Paul Dalglish claimed has had a "remarkable" season, from the start ahead of Welsh to nullify the threat that Dessers poses ahead of the final.