🔗 Share this article

Live Updates

The teams emerge amid the roar, Hampden separated evenly into blue and green. For the opportunity to play St Mirren FC in this stadium next month … here we go.

Other Matches

Other football: John Brewin provides live updates for West Ham v Newcastle in the Premier League; Yara El-Shaboury brings the newest developments from the initial games in the Women's Super League.

As for us, approximately five minutes remain before the start at Hampden!

Officiating Team

Nick Walsh is the man in the middle this match. He also refereed the 2024 cup final between Celtic and Rangers and a Europa League match last season when he distributed four sending-offs and a dozen bookings. Steer clear of confrontation.

Coaching Perspectives

The Rangers manager: Despite this being his debut in this fixture, the fresh-faced gaffer has made it clear recently that he's used to participating in other significant derbies during his managerial journey, with Bayern Munich plus his stint at Wednesday.

I can remember during Hansi Flick's appointment, our second game was at home against Dortmund. We triumphed 4-0. It consistently offers motivation following success in these encounters. Furthermore, in the EFL Championship in the Sheffield derby, I was also part [of it] there. I understand the significance for the fans. This is more than just a game.

The German manager has been praising Martin O'Neill's lengthy tenure at 73.

I have tremendous respect for such a managerial journey. I believe it's always impressive for a coach when you remain active for so many years in this field and you are successful.

I am just at the beginning my coaching path. There's much work remaining to achieve similar status but the good thing is we commence evenly matched, separate eras and we'll observe what we can demonstrate through our squads in this fixture.

I'm incredibly enthusiastic. I've accumulated certain experiences yet I foresee an enormous event this Sunday. To be part of such a game, the stakes are extremely high. Victory means reaching the final, defeat means elimination. I believe all factors align for a great, great game.

Opposition Manager

The experienced boss: The stand-in manager has recently been recalling about his first meeting versus their rivals 25 years ago, the 6-2 'Demolition Derby'.

Now, repeating that performance could be very challenging, scoring six goals versus that team. I would accept a really lousy 1-0 victory if we managed to secure it. Various individuals tell me and say to me: 'That was an amazing match', though they weren't alive then. They relate to me their grandfathers and fathers spoke about it regularly. It became a really pivotal match for us, not only during that campaign, but likely for future progress.

The anxiety for approximately three days prior to the match, and then should you secure success, a great relief. And I think that's what the renowned Walter Smith frequently stated similarly, that relief outweighed other emotions. Yet these represented superb matches truly. It continues to be a superb rivalry.

This is a big game for our club. Truthfully, don't hide that reality. It's a semi-final, it's a big match for us. Any Celtic-Rangers game is a big game, though especially considering the situation of recent times, if not recent weeks, certainly.

Managerial Experience

Two new managers in the dugouts today but there's a big gap in rivalry knowledge separating them. Danny Röhl encounters his inaugural leading Rangers while Martin O'Neill gets ready to manage his twenty-eighth.

Today's result may substantially affect on how long O'Neill's second spell as stand-in Celtic coach persists, as Ewan Murray has considered.

They could potentially invest £5m in compensation to coax Kieran McKenna from Ipswich. They could take an even bigger gamble with Robbie Keane. The title holders could decide to provide Club Brugge manager Nicky Hayen a first taste of British football. These represent risks in different manners. Beyond O'Neill? This is arguable.

First XIs

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

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

Marcelo Sarrachi starts ahead of Kieran Tierney at left-back. James Forrest is additionally excluded of the XI that beat Falkirk in their recent match.

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

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

James Tavernier receives preference over Max Aarons on the right, with Mohamed Diomande coming in replacing the banned Connor Barron in central areas and Thelo Aasgaard preferred instead of Mikey Moore in offensive positions.

Match Preview

Hello and welcome to this derby match. It ought to be superior {than last time|compared to the previous meeting|versus