Celtic vs Rangers preview: Team news, lineups, prediction
Rangers are set to meet Celtic in the League Cup semi-final clash on Sunday.
Celtic and Rangers are preparing to face off at Hampden Park with a view to earning a spot in the final to face either Motherwell or St Mirren.
Danny Rohl will be keen to maintain his winning start in domestic action after Rangers secured a 1-0 win over Hibernian last time out.
Things may be easier for the German as Celtic continue their search for a new head coach with Martin O’Neill in as interim boss.
The Northern Irishman will take his side into the latest Old Firm clash at Hampden in the second derby clash of the campaign.
Preview
Danilo scored to beat Hibernian before Jack Butland went on to save a late penalty for Rangers and secure three points for the away side.
The Brazilian helped Rohl on his way to back-to-back wins with the Light Blues, and he will want to keep that going moving forward.
The ex-Sheffield Wednesday boss may not have a better chance to win over the Bears faithful than a semi-final win over their biggest rivals.
Things won’t be easy for the head coach in G51 against Celtic, who still represent a tough test even without Brendan Rodgers in the hot seat.
Rangers do have a positive recent record in the Old Firm and will hope that this serves them well at Hampden this time around.
The Hoops did secure an easy 4-0 win last time around against Falkirk, so they will be confident in their own abilities ahead of a League Cup meeting of the Old Firm.
Form guide
Celtic (last five all comps): W L W L W
Rangers (last five all comps): W W L D D
Head-to-head
The Light Blues have a largely positive recent record against Celtic, despite having gone seven games without a win between September 2023 and December 2024.
Since their League Cup final defeat at Hampden, the Ibrox club have secured two wins and two draws against their sternest rivals.
The latest meeting was one of the most boring in recent times as a goalless draw nearly sent everyone to sleep in and around Govan.
Hamza Igamane’s late winner was certainly more memorable last season as the now-Lille striker smashed home to secure a 3-2 win at Celtic Park.
Team news and predicted lineups
Rohl will take charge of his first Old Firm and won’t want to kickstart his Rangers career with a derby defeat, especially not in a semi-final.
The German has utilised a three-back formation to good effect so far and is likely to do so again, especially with a consistent squad available.
It doesn’t appear that the Light Blues have any fresh injury problems with Dujon Sterling and Rabbi Matondo remaining on the sidelines.
Celtic have more concerns to deal with as Alistair Johnston looks set to miss out after suffering another hamstring injury against Sturm Graz.
The Parkhead club can utilise Daizen Maeda and Kieran Tierney against the Gers, with both now available for selection after injury.
Celtic predicted XI: Schmeichel, Donovan, Murray, Scales, Tierney, McGregor, Hatate, Engels, Nygren, Kenny, Tounekti
Rangers predicted XI: Butland, Djiga, Souttar, Cornelius, Meghoma, Raskin, Diomande, Tavernier, Gassama, Moore, Danilo
Prediction: Celtic 1-2 Rangers
The latest edition of the Old Firm certainly represents a difficult one to predict.
Having Rohl in charge and multiple games into his reign could prove beneficial against a managerless Celtic side.
O’Neill could still manage to get a tune out of the Hoops and cause problems for the Gers, but that is yet to be seen.
If the Ibrox outfit can carry forward their recent level of performance, there’s no reason why they can’t book a place in the League Cup final.
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