Watford manager Chris Wilder says he believes the Rangers versus Celtic fixture is the “biggest derby” in European football.

The 55-year-old has recently been to an Old Firm game at Ibrox for the first time and he feels that there is nothing else that compares to the atmosphere:

“This is the biggest derby, every fan in football understands the importance of their own derby but this is the biggest game around, certainly when you look around, it’s the biggest derby certainly in European football. That’s my belief but I don’t know how other people see it.”

“I have a lot of friends north of the border who anticipate this game and I know how much it means to them. Edinburgh has their derby, there’s one in Manchester and Liverpool but when you put everything on the table it would be difficult to argue against the Celtic v Rangers derby as being the biggest.”

Wilder is making a very bold statement. El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid, the Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton, the Manchester derby, London derbies that involve Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea are all highly regarded. Even the North East derby (Newcastle v Sunderland) has its own proponents.

From Wilder’s point of view, though, it seems nothing quite lives up to the Old Firm games. The match this weekend is likely to prove pivotal in the title race.

Anything other than a win for Michael Beale’s team at Celtic Park will probably make the Hoops impossible to catch. We shall see if the Light Blues can get the result they need on Saturday.