The first Old Firm clash of the season takes place this weekend, with Rangers and Celtic meeting at Ibrox on Sunday afternoon.
The Gers were thrashed 5-1 by PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League playoffs on Wednesday, while the Bhoys were held to a goalless draw by St Johnstone the previous week.
Match preview
Rangers and PSV Eindhoven went into the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal tied at 2-2, but the Dutch side went on to win the tie 7-3 on aggregate after putting five past Michael Beale’s men on Wednesday.
PSV ran riot in the latter parts of the encounter, with Connor Goldson’s farcical own goal finishing a dreadful night for the Gers. Isamel Saibari scored twice to make it 4-2 on aggregate before James Tavernier pulled a goal back midway through the second half.
To make matters worse for Rangers, they are now a point behind Celtic in the Scottish Premiership table after a 1-0 loss to Kilmarnock on the opening weekend, despite having 18 shots and 69% possession at Rugby Park.
However, the Gers responded immediately with a 4-0 win against Livingston before overcoming Ross County 2-0, meaning that Beale’s side has scored six goals in their last two league games while also holding a number of clean sheets.
Rangers will undoubtedly be sad to have missed out on a place in the Champions League, but they may make apologies by claiming Glasgow bragging rights at the expense of their fiercest rivals this weekend.
On top of that, Rangers can take confidence from the fact that Celtic have also dropped points in the Premiership this season, as the Hoops played out a goalless stalemate with St Johnstone last weekend.
Despite registering 19 shots while enjoying the lion’s share of possession on home soil, Brendan Rodgers‘s boys were unable to make the most of their dominance against the Saints, who managed just two attempts on target throughout the contest.
Celtic kicked off their Premiership campaign with a 4-2 triumph over Ross County, thanks largely to a double from David Turnbull, and the reigning champions followed up that victory with a 3-1 win against Aberdeen, with Kyogo Furuhashi scoring for the second game running.
Since then, however, the Bhoys have recorded one draw and one loss, with a shock 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock in the second round of the Scottish League Cup preceding last weekend’s stalemate with St Johnstone.
Under the guidance of Ange Postecoglou, Celtic won 32 of their 38 league games en route to securing a memorable treble last season, but Celtic have already dropped points and suffered League Cup elimination since Rodgers’s return.
Team News
© Reuters
Rangers are still without long-term injury absentee Steven Davis, whose last appearance came back in December 2022, while Kieran Dowell and Ridvan Yilmaz are also sidelined through injury.
This weekend, Michael Beale is likely to stick with a 4-3-1-2 configuration, with the midfield trio of Jose Cifuentes, John Lundstram, and Nicolas Raskin functioning in front of the back four.
Todd Cantwell, who has two goals and two assists in his last seven outings, is anticipated to provide attacking support to Rabbi Matondo and Cyriel Dessers.
Celtic, on the other hand, are without Cameron Carter-Vickers, James McCarthy, and Maik Nawrocki due to muscle injuries, leaving Brendan Rodgers with little defensive options.
Rodgers cannot afford to make too many changes to the XI that started last weekend’s surprising draw with St Johnstone, with Reo Hatate, Yuki Kobayashi, Oh Hyeon-gyu, Marco Tilio, and Stephen Welsh also out injured.
Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi and Yang Hyun-jun will continue to occupy the forward line in a 4-3-3 formation, while Matt O’Riley, Callum McGregor and David Turnbull are expected to operate in midfield.
Rangers possible starting lineup:
Butland; Tavernier, Goldson, Souttar, Barisic; Cifuentes, Lundstrum, Raskin; Cantwell; Matondo, Dessers
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; Johnston, Lagerkielke, Scales, Taylor; O’Reily, McGregor, Turnbull; Maeda, Furuhashi, Yang
We say: Rangers 2-2 Celtic
Rangers and Celtic invariably produce fireworks when they do battle – and Sunday’s showdown looks destined to be another eventful encounter.
Given that both sides have already dropped points this season, we can see the Old Firm foes serving up an entertaining draw at Ibrox.
