Celtic squad 'accept' Rangers decision and take inspiration from 16-game streak

Baur’s arrival from Paderborn for around £4.5 million was a significant outlay, although the arrivals of winger Haissem Hassan and forwards Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran have been given more attention.

The 22-year-old German has fitted in nicely to Celtic’s midfield, complimenting captain Callum McGregor. He marked his fifth start for the club with a well-timed goal in Perth on Wednesday night on 52 minutes as the visitors defeated St Johnstone 1-0 in the Premiership.

Baur is more of a No 6, but he showed the intelligence to break into the penalty box and get on the end of Hassan’s cutback. Overall, he was one of the best players at McDiarmid Park.

Such levels will be required at Ibrox on Sunday when Celtic travel across to Glasgow to face Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final. There will be no away fans present but Baur is ready for the hostile environment, even if he has not experienced a fixture like it.

"It will be a special match,” said Baur. "Today I'm just enjoying the win and my performance, and our performance – the three points. But everyone knows it's a special match against Rangers. They're a good team, it will be a tough game, difficult, but we will try our best to get into the next round.”

Baur freely admits he is taking a step into the unknown with this fixture. “I really don't know,” he smiled. “For sure I expect it will be special, but I think I've never experienced something like that. Last season I remember that I watched the highlights, but not the full match. I'm just looking forward and being excited about what's happening on Sunday.”

Baur’s only experience of derby matches in Germany came in the third tier when on loan at Dresden against Rostock and Aue. "Yeah, I played two derbies, but it was during my time in Dresden,” he said. “One yes, one no [in terms of wins]. It's also special. There are some really tough derbies, but I think you cannot compare it to something like Sunday.”

Especially when no away fans will be present after a ticket allocation dispute. “We have to accept it,” said Baur. “It's not our decision. It should not affect us on Sunday, but sure, if you have some fans with you to give you energy, it helps a lot, but it's not our decision.

“It's just a way of perspective. They give you energy if they're in the stadium, but a situation like that gives you a lot of energy. You know everyone watches it in front of the TV, so you want to do your best, you want to win. Maybe it also gives you a bit of energy.

"We accept it and try to do our best.”

Regardless, Baur believes Celtic come into the game with confidence. They are on a 16-game winning run in all domestic competitions.

"I think now we have good momentum because of the last matches in the league,” added Baur. "We can be confident for sure. That's why it's important that we won today, to have that confidence and to look forward to the Rangers match.

"And to go into the match really confident, that we know we have the quality and we are capable of scoring, capable of defending.”