Chris Sutton reckons Celtic could turn the crowd against Rangers at Ibrox this Sunday.

The title rivals go head-to-head in the Scottish Premiership this weekend.

And despite an agreement for the return of away allocations next season - there will be no away supporters at Ibrox.

However, Sutton reckons that could still work in Celtic's favour if they snatch an early lead and turn the home crowd to "hammering the players".

Sutton told Sky Sports: "It's easy playing at Celtic and Rangers when things are going well. Rangers only need a dodgy start at Ibrox on Sunday - a poor 30 minutes where Celtic can take the lead - and then they'll all be hammering the players! Just wait and see…

"Away fans being allowed back at the Old Firm next season is encouraging. It's a first step. We all want it back to the way it used to be with a full allocation.

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"We need that as a fixture, it's a big game around the world. I suspect people would have been looking at the no away fans and thinking: 'This is really petty, isn't it?'

"It's not fitting of the game and we're getting it back to where it should be."

Rangers hero Kris Boyd admitted the crowd factor could swing in both directions as he recalled Kyogo Furuhashi's strike at Ibrox earlier this season.

He said: "If you look back to the first Old Firm match this season at Ibrox, that fantastic Kyogo strike silenced Ibrox so it shows it can turn.

"It can have its plus points but at the same time, it can go against you in exactly the same way it happened there. It's up to Rangers to start the game positive and get the fans behind them."