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Key events
13 min: Time for Rangers to go long with a throw, Sterling to send it in from the right … the ball works it way back to Sterling, whose low cross is blocked for a corner.
11 min: Celtic push down the left-hand side, with Tierney ready for a long throw … but Fernandez heads away. Rangers counter but Donovan wins it back for Celtic, the move closing with Durán dragging a tame shot wide.
9 min: Durán tries to drive down the right for Celtic, but Makhanya gets in the way.
7 min: Celtic are looking just a touch sloppy here, with Rangers setting the rhythm as Penrice wins the ball in midfield.
5 min: A shocker at the back from Johnstone, clearing the ball straight to Kelsy, inside the area, who hooks it wide. Celtic get away with one early.
3 min: Makhanya rushes forward and takes down Durán inside Celtic’s half.
2 min: Rangers build and Gassama collects on the left, cuts inside … but the shot lacks venom, cleaned up comfortably by Johnstone in the Celtic net.
1 min: Rangers knock it around at the back before Makhanya goes long, down the left-hand side.
Peeeeep!
It’s Celtic, surrounded by blue, who kick us off.
Sam Johnstone, who has joined Celtic on loan from Wolves, made his debut in the league this week and keeps his place. The Hoops have made four changes from midweek, with Kieran Tierney, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Benjamin Nygren and Camilo Durán all starting today. Haissem Hassan, my World Cup hero, must settle for a spot on the bench.
There won’t be any Celtic support at Ibrox today – the SPFL announced this month that away fans will not attend Old Firm derbies in its competitions this season. There was fan disorder when the two sides met in March in the Scottish Cup.
The teams
Rangers: Pandur, Sterling, Fernandez, Makhanya, Penrice, Neil, Raskin, Min-su, Gassama, Kelsy, Naderi
Subs: Kelly, McCrorie, Godfrey, Dragojevic, Devlin, Chukwuani, Curtis, Bouanani, Miovski
Celtic: Johnstone, Donovan, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney, McGregor, Baur, Nygren, Durán, Tounekti, Høgh
Subs: Sinisalo, Lotomba, Trusty, Sørensen, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Hassan, Mheuka, Murray, Forrest
Preamble
Hello, hello, hello and welcome to the first Old Firm derby of the season. Forget the league, where Celtic have a 100% record, and forget Europe, where there’s been serious misery for both sides. We go to the League Cup, won by St Mirren last time round, Wilfried Nancy’s side beaten in the final. He was gone not long after, prompting the return of Martin O’Neill.
This’ll be the first time Derek McInnes comes up against Celtic as Rangers’ manager, with his side having won four on the bounce after a difficult start. It’ll also be McInnes’ first meeting with Celtic since that day in May, when his Hearts side couldn’t hold on to claim the title. We won’t have that level of drama today … but it should still be fun. Kick-off’s at 12pm BST.
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