🔗 Share this article

Live Feed

The squads take the field amid the roar, Hampden separated evenly with blue and green sections. For the right to face St Mirren here in December … the action begins.

Additional Fixtures

Additional games: John Brewin provides live updates for West Ham vs Newcastle in the EPL; Yara El-Shaboury has all the latest from the day's opening matches in the Women's Super League.

Turning to this match, there's just over five minutes until kick-off at Hampden!

Officiating Team

Nick Walsh will referee this match. He previously officiated the 2024 cup final involving Celtic and Rangers plus a European fixture the previous campaign where he showed four sending-offs and twelve cautions. Steer clear of confrontation.

Manager Insights

Danny Röhl: Despite this being his debut in this fixture, the recently appointed boss has emphasized this week that he's used to participating in other important local clashes during his managerial journey, with Bayern Munich plus his stint at Wednesday.

I recall when Hansi Flick assumed control, our following match took place against Dortmund at our stadium. We won 4-0. It consistently offers motivation if you win such a game. Furthermore, in England's second tier in the Steel derby, I was involved in that as well. I know what it means among the followers. This transcends ordinary football.

The 36-year-old German has also been lauding Martin O'Neill's lengthy tenure at 73.

I have tremendous respect for such a managerial journey. I think it is always great in this profession when you work so long in this industry and you are successful.

I am just at the beginning of my career. There's much work remaining to reach that level however the positive aspect we commence evenly matched, different generations and we'll observe what we can contribute with our teams in this fixture.

I am very excited. I've accumulated certain experiences though I anticipate a big, big one during Sunday's match. To participate in such a match, it's all or nothing. You win, you go into the final, defeat means elimination. I think everything is on for a great, great game.

Counterpart Perspective

Martin O'Neill: The stand-in manager has this week been reminiscing about his first meeting with Rangers 25 years ago, the 6-2 'Demolition Derby'.

Now, repeating that performance may prove quite arduous, putting six past them against those opponents. I'd settle for a scrappy single-goal triumph if we could get it. Various individuals tell me and mention to me: 'That was a great game', despite not being born at the time. They tell me their grandfathers and fathers discussed it frequently. It became a really pivotal match for our team, not only during that campaign, but probably for continuing on.

The anxiety for approximately three days before, and then should you secure success, a great relief. And I believe that's exactly the renowned Walter Smith often mentioned too, that relief outweighed other emotions. However these were magnificent contests genuinely. It remains a wonderful encounter.

This is a big game for our team. Truthfully, don't hide that reality. It's a semi-final encounter, it's an important game for our side. Each encounter between these rivals is a big game, though especially considering the situation of the past few days, possibly even months, certainly.

Managerial Experience

Two different coaches in the dugouts today though there's a significant difference in Old Firm experience separating them. Danny Röhl encounters his inaugural as the Rangers boss while Martin O'Neill gets ready to manage of his 28th.

The outcome today might significantly influence on the duration O'Neill's comeback as temporary Celtic manager persists, as Ewan Murray has considered.

The club might spend substantial compensation to lure Kieran McKenna from Ipswich Town. They could take an even bigger gamble involving Robbie Keane. The title holders might choose to offer Club Brugge manager Nicky Hayen a debut opportunity in British football. These represent risks to varying degrees. Beyond O'Neill? This is debatable.

First XIs

Celtic FC (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Ralston, Trusty, Scales, Sarrachi; McGregor, Engels, Nygren; Maeda, Kenny, Tounekti.

Reserves: Sinisalo, Balikwisha, Yang, Osmand, McCowan, Hatate, Murray, Forrest, Tierney.

Marcelo Sarrachi begins ahead of Kieran Tierney on the left defensive flank. James Forrest is also omitted from the first team that beat Falkirk in midweek.

Rangers FC (3-4-3): Butland; Djiga, Souttar, Cornelius; Tavernier, Diomande, Raskin, Meghoma; Aasgaard, Chermiti, Danilo.

Subs: Kelly, Aarons, Fernández, Rothwell, Antman, Moore, Gassama, Curtis, Miovski.

James Tavernier is selected instead of Max Aarons on the right, with Mohamed Diomande coming in replacing the banned Connor Barron in central areas with Thelo Aasgaard favored over Mikey Moore in attack.

Opening Context

Greetings and welcome to this Old Firm clash. It ought to be superior {than last time|compared to the previous meeting|versus