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Key events
16 min: Celtic have found their groove. In a slick move, Engels fires an excellent low pass to Maeda, who touches nearly off for Idah. The Irishman finds space around the penalty spot, shifts it onto his right foot but Souttar is able to make a vital block!
14 min: Ralston has had a nervy start at right back for Celtic. Doesn’t appear comfortable and is nearly bullied off the ball by Dessers, only for the referee to blow for a soft free-kick.
12 min: This is an excellent game. Both teams going at it and both sets of fans are raucous.
10 min: Sinisalo twice brought into action in the Celtic goal, initially tipping over a shot from Cerny, that was deflected and threatening to loop under the bar. Latterly to deny Raskin’s header from the resulting corner.
8 min: Celtic win the ball deep in Rangers territory and catch the hosts completely cold. The visitors have a three-on-two on the counter-attack and Idah only has to feed an easy ball right to Forrest for a clean run on goal … but the Celtic striker undercooks the pass and Balogan is able to make a last-ditch sliding tackle! That was a criminal pass, Forrest has his head in his hands. He knows how big a chance that was!
7 min: Rangers are playing quite a high line and Idah has threatened on a few occasions to break the offside trap. Another probing run forces a corner. Here come the Celtic cavalry from the back … and only an excellent defensive header from Balogan at the near post clears the danger!
5 min: Ralston lucky to get away without a booking after late challenge on Bajrami.
3 min: Celtic have barely had a kick. Rangers have started like a train.
Rangers hit the bar!
1 min: Just 55 seconds into the match, Balogan rises completely unmarked from a Rangers corner and pops a bullet header onto the top of the crossbar! He should have done better, there was a key block from Raskin on Scales to create room for chance. Oooooo, that’s a big miss, and right in front of the travelling Celtic fans as well.
Peeeeeeeeeeep!
We are underway in the Old Firm.
The teams are out! Tina Turner’s Simply the Best plays out around the stadium, a song that the Celtic fans are all too keen to get in involved in.
Should say there was no guard of honour for the new champions …
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers speaks to the cameras:
We come here in a great moment, winning the league. But these are big games and you want to perform in them.
This is our pride we’re playing for. We have let ourselves down a wee bit in these games, though. There’s no excuses today. We have our own supporters back in the stadium, which is brilliant. Rangers have proven in certain games they are very good. Coming to Ibrox is always a big challenge. I’m looking forward to the duels.
Kuhn hasn’t trained all week. He’s got a real soreness in his knee. He had a clash last week against Dundee United.
Re the Celtic squad, it’s not greatest bench so Brendan Rodgers doesn’t have a lot of options if the gameplan goes south.
Kuhn is a big miss and not even named as a substitute. It’s unclear if he is injured or something else aside. We’ll hear from Rodgers shortly, and he should clear that up. It’s a big day for the veteran James Forrest.
A couple of pre-match pics at Ibrox. It’s a gorgeous day in Glasgow. Enter Sandman by Metallica blares around the stadium. It’s not AC/DC, but it’ll do.
This is worth a read from last week, if you are catching up on the state of play in Scotland.
Our Scottish football correspondent, Ewan Murray, is currently fielding Old Firm questions in a Q&A, over on our Matchday Live blog.
Here’s a little taster:
John W asks: how do Rangers close the gap on Celtic next season and is it bringing back Steven Gerrard?
The Gerrard suggestion will not go away and feels mutually useful. Where else does he get a prominent job? And this is a manager with recent experience of succeeding domestically at Rangers. Supporters would accept him. The gap to Celtic remains a huge one; Celtic’s on and off field position is streets ahead of Rangers. The gap is closed by Rangers spending their money in a smarter manner. An imminent takeover by American investors offers hope but Rangers need to dramatically improve their decision making.
Team news!
Rangers: Kelly; Tavernier, Souttar, Balogun, Jefte; Barron, Diomande, Raskin; Cerny, Dessers, Bajrami.
Subs: Butland, Cortes, Nsiala, Kasanwirjo, Igamane, Hagi, McCausland, Rice, Danilo.
Celtic: Sinisalo; Ralston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; Engels, McGregor, Hatate; Forrest, Idah, Maeda.
Subs: Bain, Trusty, Yang, McCowan, Schlupp, Nawrocki, Kenny, Bernardo, McArdle.
Preamble
Let’s not dress this one up. Celtic are already confirmed as Scottish champions for the 55th time, Rangers can’t finish anywhere but second. In the league table then, there really isn’t much hinging on this Old Firm Derby. But we all know this fixture means a little bit more than that. It is up there as one of the world’s great rivalries, and rarely disappoints.
If Celtic are the stable juggernaut lurching forward – claiming 21 of the last 26 domestic trophies in Scotland and still in the hunt for the treble – then Rangers are still in a state of flux. Barry Ferguson’s deal as interim manager only runs until the end of the season. With the proposed takeover hanging over the club, there are many questions regarding finances, management, recruitment and direction.
The prospective new owners –American investors, Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises Global Football Group – plus Rangers’ new incoming sporting director Kevin Thelwell visited the training ground this week. Ferguson spoke this week about his support for the takeover, whatever that means for his job.
It’s something the club has been wanting, outside investment,” he said. “It looks to me like it’s going along smoothly and we’re just waiting to get the thumbs up. It’s the start of a new era for the club and it certainly needs it. Like everybody else, I’m just looking forward to the day it gets signed off and hopefully it’s a brighter future for Rangers.
There has to be a lot of changes to try and make this club successful again, because it’s built on winning trophies. If I’m not going to be here, I’m excited about the prospect of new owners coming in and Kevin coming in. I’m comfortable with the situation. It’s been an amazing couple of months for me. A few ups and downs, but it’s given me a taste for it. Of course I would take it [the manager’s job]. If I don’t get it, I’m not going to spit the dummy out. I’ll go back to my [ambassadorial] role and support the club.
Rangers have won the last two derbies, including an away win at Parkhead under Ferguson in March. This season may be chalked but those in blue will indeed be hoping this is the start of a new era.
Kick-off: 12pm BST.
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