Celtic vs Rangers – News and Probable Lineups

The final Old Firm derby of the 2025-26 season is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, as Celtic hosts Rangers at Celtic Park.

The home side sits second in the table, trailing the Scottish Premiership leaders by three points, while the visitors are in third place, seven points behind the top spot.

Match overview

Celtic’s ambition of clinching a fifth consecutive Scottish Premiership title is at stake, as the Bhoys currently find themselves three points behind leaders Hearts with only three matches remaining.

Martin O’Neill, who has managed during two different periods this season, has successfully revitalized the club after the tumultuous tenure of Wilfried Nancy, achieving 11 victories, two draws, and only two losses in 15 league fixtures, also guiding the Bhoys to the Scottish FA Cup final.

Despite their strong momentum, Celtic still trail Hearts by three points as they head into the final three matches, which includes a pivotal meeting with the league leaders on the season’s last day.

Celtic aims to either maintain or reduce the gap on Hearts before that crucial fixture, making wins against Rangers and Motherwell essential for the Bhoys.

O’Neill’s squad can take confidence from their current five-game winning streak across all competitions, although Celtic’s performance against their city rivals in recent encounters has not been as impressive.

Rangers, motivated to thwart Celtic’s title aspirations, remain unbeaten in their last six Scottish Premiership matchups against their Old Firm rivals, with three wins and three draws during that period, including consecutive victories at Celtic Park.

The Gers are also eager to secure all three points to keep their slim title hopes alive, particularly after two successive defeats have left them seven points adrift of the leaders.

Danny Rohl’s squad was unbeaten in 16 Scottish Premiership matches before the post-split phase, but disappointing losses to Motherwell (3-2) and to Hearts (2-1) have jeopardized all their efforts to re-enter the title race.

Thus, Rangers will likely need to earn maximum points while hoping both Hearts and Celtic drop crucial points in the closing weeks if they wish to clinch the title, with a loss on Sunday potentially leading to the Gers’ first third-place finish since 2018.

Team News

Celtic faces several injury challenges, with Colby Donovan, Julian Araujo, Kasper Schmeichel, Callum Osmand, Adam Montgomery, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Jota all sidelined.

Following their fifth consecutive win against Hibernian last weekend, O’Neill might choose to keep the same starting XI for this match, including the in-form Daizen Maeda, who has netted four goals in his previous three outings.

On the other hand, Rangers are expected to be missing only Bailey Rice, who is out with a muscle injury.

After losing their last two fixtures, Rohl may opt to implement several changes in search of a much-needed response on Sunday.

As a result, players like Djeidi Gassama, Thelo Aasgaard, and Tuur Rommens could be included in the starting lineup.

Celtic probable starting XI:

Sinisalo; Johnston, Trusty, Scales, Tierney; McGregor, Engels; Hyun-Jun, Nygren, Tounekti; Maeda

Rangers probable starting XI:

Butland; Tavernier, Djiga, Fernandez, Rommens; Chukwuani, Raskin; Gassama, Diomande, Aasgaard; Chermity

While Rangers possess a strong recent record in Old Firm fixtures within the Scottish Premiership, they have lost their last two encounters, whereas Celtic is experiencing an excellent streak of results.

Combined with the advantage of home support at Celtic Park, alongside the Bhoys desperately vying for three points to stay in the title contention, it is believed that Celtic will ultimately emerge victorious and secure all three points.