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Key events
31 min: You can tell Rangers are attacking as the boos are loud. No away fans allowed, of course.
29 min: Rangers’ turn to build a head of steam? They’re working hard, chasing hard in the midday sun but almost fall prey to a fast break, Nygren playing in Tierney, who unleashes and fires just wide of a grateful Pandur.
27 min: Penrice presses down on Sinisalo. No space offered, and eventually Gassama gets away again, and lays the ball square to Neil, whose shot is deflected into the Celtic keeper’s hands. Gassama has the beating of Donovan.
25 min: Neither team have created what you might term a clear-cut chance. Though that’s as you might expect. Duran spins Fernandez again, and it takes a Raskin foul to stop the Celtic forward.
24 min: Duran and Fernandez clatter into each other, the Celtic man flicking the ball to Tierney who has a sight on goal, only for Sterling to make a timely intervention.
22 min: Simon McMahon gets in touch: “Afternoon John. Celtic can’t be worse than they were last week. That’s not to say they won’t still lose. But if they win they go eight points clear after just seven games. And pass the crisis club baton to their visitors today. Never a dull moment in Scottish football.”
So far, they aren’t worse than last week, but are still a bit scratchy.
21 min: Donovan comes across to stop a Penrice ball that was aimed for Gassama; Rangers still looking for that key pass.
20 min: Baur’s run into the Rangers defence is endemic of Celtic’s revival in recent moments. Rangers look unsettled with Fernandez a problem for them. Will be amazed if he makes it past half-time, either through a red card or being subbed off.
18 min: Three corners for Celtic, the first causing more trouble than the second, the third boomed into the hands of Pandur in the Rangers goal.
17 min: Fernandez, lucky boy? On a yellow, he commits what looks to be a foul, but gets away with knocking over Tierney. He could be off. Perhaps he should be off.
15 min: Rangers clear the corner, and also McGregor’s followup corner, both of which were too airy to cause much concern.
14 min: Rangers still looking for a good final ball, none as good as that from Raskin in the opening moments. There’s roars as Celtic win a corner, when Fernandez falls to the floor in a similar fashion to Gabriel at Brighton yesterday. The referee sees through him.
13 min: Phil Withall gets in touch: “Surely being a manager of an Old Firm team is the most hopeless and unforgiving job to be had? Whatever ever you do isn’t good enough, one loss is the end of the world, a global network of people with more knowledge than you, know better. Whoever Ed Sheran’s PR person is may beg to differ, but why would you put yourself through it?”
12 min: Howls of outrage as Duran is smashed into by Sterling. Tierney has to run back to cover an incursion from Kim, whose cross into the box turns out to be poor.
10 min: Callum McGregor fouls Dan Neil in a battle of the captains. McGregor does the finger waving thing to correct the referee.
9 min: Is the Celtic refit working? Not as yet, Rangers look more comfortable in midfield, Celtic a little rushed.
8 min: An oasis of brief calm, only for Sinisalo to be chased down when dawdling over a back-pass. Every touch receives a crowd reaction, not bad for so early on a Sunday.
6 min: From the free-kick, Celtic have the ball in the net after Scales flick, Trusty’s volley in, but Scales is offside. So no goal. McInnes got a booking there, by the way. Yes, this is the Old Firm derby alright.
4 min: Fernandez now booked for Rangers, fouling a galloping Duran, who had escaped. VAR has a look, and it is deemed to be not a last-man foul. Derek McInnes and O’Neill are at each other, with one of the Celtic bench given a yellow.
3 min: Did Duran almost escape for Celtic? It takes a challenge from Fernandez to stop him. He had switched off.
2 min: Rangers have begun the brighter, Raskin playing the ball to Gassama to hit, and it takes a Donovan tackle top rescue Celtic.
Away we go in Glasgow
1 min: The Celtic fans keep singing YNWA as the game kicks off. The singing turns to boos as Rangers gain possession.
Here comes You’ll Never Walk Alone. Who sang it first? Does it matter? Watch footage from the 1970s and early 1980s and fans of many clubs sing it. It is, though, the song of both Liverpool and Celtic.
This is the 450th meeting of the two teams, and they are on 174 wins each.
Derek McInnes spoke to the BBC: “I know Celtic have made a load of changes. A lot was made of last week, us having won the battle through the middle of the park, they’ve filled the middle of the pitch today. We just need to make sure that we still try and compete in there, that middle ground is important for us to win.”
O’Neill has replaced Sam Johnstone with Viljami Sinisalo in Celtic’s goal. This is the explanation, Johnstone having played against Rangers last weel: “I feel that with Sam coming newly into the football club, and not having played for some time, I thought that the two games that he played, it would give him experience of the Old Firm game for a start.”
As the Sky pundits suggest, he clearly favours Sinisalo.
Is it actually three at the back? Martin O’Neill, as ever, keeps it mercurial. “We’ve got the options for both – but I’m not sure we’re going to play three or five [at the back]. You’ll find out in about an hour’s time. For years I played three at the back with two wide players. But this is not exactly that system today.”
Derek McInnes also spoke to Sky: “Just because you win the game doesn’t mean it always says you’ve got the tactics right and, equally, when you lose a game, it doesn’t mean it says you’ve got them wrong.
“I think sometimes tactics can get a wee bit overplayed. I do think you normally win games during the individual moments and the performance of players being really high and really strong. We look to do something similar in terms of our approach. We want to make sure the aggression’s there, the confidence is there to play.
“The energy that we displayed last week, these are all the things that are more important than tactics. Hopefully the players go into the game and onto the pitch with that message loud and clear that a big performance is required. You don’t win at Celtic Park unless everybody plays well. We’ve got to try and bring something similar and look for those improvements again.”
Martin O”Neill had the following to say to Sky ahead of the game: “We’re far from rock bottom. We’re still in the lead and if we could win this, we can extend the lead and if we don’t, even by the international break, we’re still going to be in front.
“We’re going to try and put that right if we can. But I know the last time we had an international break was in March time and we played very poorly against Dundee United. So that was, if you can call it a wake-up call or a moment of quiet reflection or whatever the case may be. We turned it round. The players are capable of turning it round.
“It’s a big game, whether it’s played in September or March time. We need to be up for the game. Do we need to win the game? It would be nice to win it, it wouldn’t be great if we lost. That would be three on the trot. Psychologically, it would be a blow. But we need to be up for it.”
Derek McInnes has picked the same starting team from last week’s win at Ibrox. Celtic look to have gone three at the back – the formation that O’Neill had success with first time around at Celtic. Auston Trusty lines up alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales. Kasper Hogh, Haissem Hassan, Oliver Sorensen, and James Forrest are the four players dropped.
The teams
Celtic: Sinisalo, Trusty, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Donovan, Baur, McGregor, Tierney, McCowan, Duran, Nygren. Subs: Johnstone, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Hogh, Tounekti, Hassan, Mheuka, Murray, Forrest, Ralston.
Rangers: Pandur, Sterling, Fernandez, Makhanya, Penrice, Kim, Neil, Raskin, Gassama, Naderi, Kelsy. Subs: Kelly, McCrorie, Godfrey, Dragojevic, Devlin, Chukwuani, Curtis, Bouanani, Miovski.
Referee: John Beaton (Scotland)
Rangers are out of Europe after losing their playoffs for the Europa League and Conference League, but their fans may well have enjoyed watching the Europa League this week.
Last time out:
Against a backdrop of bouncing techno from the tannoy, Rangers fans celebrated three memorable goals in a thumping League Cup win. A brace for the captain, Dan Neil, bookended Kevin Kelsy’s second‑half finish to put Martin O’Neill’s side down with relative ease. It also showcased a nascent identity for McInnes’s side, one defined by unbending physical commitment and lots and lots of sprinting. The quality of the football may have been patchy, but the commitment was enough to get the 51,212 home fans at the top of their voices.
Preamble
Another week, another Old Firm/Glasgow derby match. Though the next one isn’t scheduled until 3 January. Rangers won last week, and should they win at Parkhead it could blow open the title race. Hearts divide both teams at the moment in the table, and a bad week for Celtic would be completed by losing to their eternal rivals. Derek McInnes was bought time and credibility by beating Celtic in the League Cup while Martin O’Neill was in cantankerous form before and after the Europa League defeat to Ferencvaros. So, plenty to play for, though there’s always plenty to play for.
Kick-off high noon, Glasgow time. Join me.
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