Celtic and Rangers meet at Celtic Park on Sunday in the first Old Firm derby of the Scottish Premiership season, with both clubs arriving in contrasting form. Celtic sit top of the table but reach the fixture on the back of two damaging results. Rangers, meanwhile, have found momentum under manager Derek McInnes and see the game as a chance to close the gap early in the campaign. The meeting carries the usual weight that follows Scottish football’s biggest rivalry.
Pressure has grown on Celtic manager Martin O’Neill after a 3-0 defeat to Rangers in the League Cup and a 3-1 loss to Ferencvaros in the Europa League. The 74-year-old acknowledged that confidence in his squad had been dented, though he insisted the club remained in a strong position. “We’re far from rock bottom, we’re still going to be in front,” O’Neill said, pointing to Celtic’s place at the head of the standings despite the setbacks of recent weeks.
Rangers travel across the city in better spirits after their League Cup win over the same opponent. McInnes used an unconventional shape in that match, deploying left-back James Penrice in a midfield role to disrupt Celtic’s build-up, and the approach paid off. A victory on Sunday would move Rangers to within two points of Celtic after only seven league games, turning an uneven start to his tenure into a promising one at an important stage of the season.
O’Neill faces a series of selection decisions across the team. Questions hang over his goalkeeper, with Sam Johnstone and Viljami Sinisalo competing for the position, and over his defence, where Liam Scales and Auston Trusty offer different options at centre-back. Choices in midfield and attack will also shape how Celtic try to respond to the tactical problems Rangers set them in the earlier meeting between the sides.
McInnes played down any sense of comfort despite his side’s recent record against Celtic. “A big performance is required. You don’t win at Celtic Park unless everybody plays well,” he said. With the league lead, momentum and local pride all in play, the fixture offers an early marker in a title race that both sets of supporters expect to run deep into the season.
