Rangers vs Celtic: High Stakes in Old Firm Clash
The first Old Firm of the season arrives early, sharp and unforgiving. A place in the Scottish League Cup semi-finals is on the line. So is momentum, credibility and, for one man in particular, a little breathing space.
Derek McInnes walked into Rangers this summer as the man charged with resetting a club still smarting from last season’s title race. Celtic had held their nerve in a three-way fight and walked off with both the Premiership and the Scottish Cup. At Ibrox, that stung.
McInnes’ start did not help. A crash out of Europe turned the volume up almost immediately. The questions came fast; the patience did not. Now, though, the noise has dipped a notch. Four straight Premiership wins have steadied the mood and this tie offers him something far more valuable than a decent run of form: a statement.
Beat Celtic. Reach a semi-final. Change the tone of the season.
Celtic, under Martin O’Neill, arrive with their own edge. They are still the team to beat in Scotland and they want their hands back on a trophy they feel they let slip. Last season’s League Cup exit to St Mirren, under Wilfried Nancy, still sits awkwardly in their recent history. This competition used to be a marker of their dominance. Now it feels like unfinished business.
No away fans at Ibrox
The fixture will look and sound different. The last time Rangers hosted Celtic, in a combustible Scottish Cup quarter-final, chaos in the stands and around the occasion forced a rethink. The result this time is stark: no Celtic supporters inside Ibrox on Sunday.
One half of Glasgow will roar. The other will watch from living rooms and pubs, locked out of one of the most emotionally charged afternoons on the calendar. The intensity on the pitch will not drop. If anything, it may sharpen with the noise coming from only one side.
When and where to watch
The Scottish League Cup quarter-final kicks off at Ibrox at 12pm BST on Sunday 13 September.
The match will be shown live on Premier Sports 1 and via the Premier Sports Player, a lunchtime window into a rivalry that rarely needs any extra selling.
Rangers’ injury blows mount
If McInnes wanted a clean run at his first Old Firm, he has not got it. Rangers’ captain and talisman, Lawrence Shankland, is out for months with a hamstring tear. That would be damaging in any week; on Old Firm week, it feels brutal.
Up front, the options have thinned quickly. Youssef Chermiti is also sidelined with a hamstring problem. New signing Daisuke Yokota? Same story. Another hamstring issue. Even at left back, where Tuur Rommens edges closer to fitness, Rangers must still wait. He will not be available in time.
The upside for McInnes is that his team, even patched up, has found a bit of rhythm in the league. The likely XI has a settled look about it:
Rangers XI: Pandur; Sterling, Fernandez, Makhanya, Penrice; Raskin, Devlin; Curtis, Kim, Gassama; Naderi.
That spine will have to carry more than its share. Without Shankland, Rangers need invention from wide areas and a clinical edge from those who usually play in support. There is no safety net here.
Celtic eye their trophy back
Across the city, Celtic’s squad picture looks brighter. Their record signing, Kasper Hogh, made his return from injury in the 1-0 win at St Johnstone. That alone changes the feel around their attack. The possibility of Kieran Tierney being fit in time for the Old Firm only adds to that sense of momentum; he is nearing a return and could feature.
O’Neill used midweek to shuffle his pack. He handed a debut to goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, preferred over Viljami Sinisalo, a move that hints at how he sees his goalkeeping hierarchy developing. Cameron Carter-Vickers, left out entirely on Wednesday, is expected to be available again, restoring authority to the heart of the defence.
Celtic want this trophy back. They also know that landing the first blow of the season in Glasgow can shape the months ahead.
A quarter-final with the weight of a title marker
Strip it back and it is “only” a League Cup quarter-final. But nothing about this feels small. Not the managers, not the context, not the stakes.
Rangers need proof that their domestic form is more than a gentle uptick against lesser opposition. Celtic need to show that last season’s double was not a peak but a platform.
Twelve o’clock on Sunday at Ibrox, no away fans, a place in the semi-finals at stake and the first chapter of this season’s Old Firm story waiting to be written. Which side walks away with the early grip on Glasgow?
