Celtic vs Rangers: Prediction, team news and likely lineups for Sunday’s Old Firm clash

Celtic and Rangers meet for the second time in the space of a week on Sunday, with the Old Firm rivals facing off at Celtic Park in a crucial Scottish Premiership fixture.

Celtic currently sit at the summit after winning each of their opening six league matches, while Rangers trail their city rivals by five points.

Celtic vs Rangers preview

Celtic’s perfect league record means they have made an excellent start domestically, but the overall picture under Martin O’Neill has been far more complicated.

The Hoops suffered a major setback in their Champions League qualifying campaign when they were thrashed 5-1 by LASK in the second leg of their play-off, going out 5-4 on aggregate.

Celtic responded positively in the league, winning four consecutive Premiership matches, but their momentum has since been disrupted by successive defeats.

Their first loss came against Rangers, who recorded a comprehensive 3-0 victory in the Scottish League Cup quarter-final at Ibrox. Celtic then suffered another setback in midweek when Ferencvaros left Glasgow with a 3-1 Europa League victory.

Defensive mistakes contributed to both results, and O’Neill will be hoping his players can respond immediately when they face Rangers again.

For Rangers, the opening weeks of the campaign were considerably more difficult.

The Ibrox side failed to win any of their first four matches in all competitions, while their European campaign also ended in disappointment.

However, Derek McInnes has since overseen a significant improvement in results. Rangers have won seven of their last eight games, with their only setback coming against Jablonec in the Conference League play-off.

Five successive victories have followed, including their emphatic 3-0 win against Celtic last weekend.

McInnes will now be looking for his team to produce another strong performance, although Rangers face the additional challenge of playing at Celtic Park.

The visitors have won only two of their last 12 trips to Celtic’s home ground. Rangers will also have to cope without travelling supporters, with away fans excluded from Old Firm fixtures this season.

Celtic team news

Celtic continue to deal with several absences.

Alistair Johnston, Callum Osmand and Jota remain sidelined through injury, while Yang Hyun-Jun is unavailable because he is representing South Korea at the Asian Games.

O’Neill is expected to make alterations following Wednesday’s defeat by Ferencvaros.

Benjamin Nygren and Kasper Hogh are among those expected to come into the starting XI, while Tony Ralston and Auston Trusty could also be handed starting roles.

Celtic possible XI

Johnstone; Ralston, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Scales; McGregor, Baur; Hassan, Nygren, Duran; Hogh.

Rangers team news

Rangers will again be without Lawrence Shankland, who continues to recover from a hamstring problem.

Youssef Chermiti is also unavailable after suffering a cruciate ligament injury, leaving Kevin Kelsy as the expected starting striker.

Kelsy scored in Rangers’ 3-0 League Cup victory over Celtic and is therefore likely to retain his place in attack.

McInnes could stick with the same starting XI that produced victory at Ibrox, although Tuur Rommens and Jose Cifuentes could provide additional options if they are deemed fit enough to return.

Rangers possible XI

Pandur; Sterling, Fernandez, Makhanya, Penrice; Raskin, Neil; Naderi, Kim, Gassama; Kelsy.

Celtic vs Rangers prediction

Celtic’s perfect league record and home advantage provide plenty of reason for optimism, but Rangers will arrive at Celtic Park with considerable confidence after winning the previous meeting 3-0.

The contrasting recent results make this a difficult fixture to call. Celtic will be determined to respond after two consecutive defeats, while Rangers will be looking to demonstrate that their Ibrox victory was more than a one-off result.

The opening stages could therefore prove particularly important, with both sides having clear reasons to start aggressively.