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The squads take the field amid the roar, Hampden Park separated evenly into blue and green. For the opportunity to face St Mirren here this December … the action begins.

Other Matches

Additional games: John Brewin offers real-time commentary for the West Ham-Newcastle clash in England's top flight; Yara El-Shaboury brings the newest developments from the initial games in the women's top division.

As for us, we're only five minutes away before the start at Hampden Park!

Match Officials

Nick Walsh is the man in the middle this afternoon. He also refereed the 2024 cup final involving Celtic and Rangers and a continental game the previous campaign when he distributed four sending-offs and twelve cautions. Steer clear of confrontation.

Manager Insights

The German coach: Despite this being his debut in this fixture, the fresh-faced gaffer has made it clear in recent days that he's accustomed to being involved in other important local clashes as a coach, with Bayern Munich plus his stint at Wednesday.

I can remember when Hansi Flick took over, our following match was at home against Dortmund. We won 4-0. It consistently offers motivation following success in these encounters. Furthermore, in the EFL Championship in the Sheffield derby, I was involved in that as well. I understand the significance for the fans. This represents more than a simple match.

The 36-year-old German has also been lauding Martin O'Neill's lengthy tenure at 73.

I feel a big respect for that type of coaching legacy. I believe it's always impressive as a manager when you sustain your career over decades in this field and achieve success.

I'm only starting out my professional journey. There's much work remaining to achieve similar status but the good thing is we commence evenly matched, distinct coaching generations and we'll observe what we can demonstrate with our teams in this encounter.

I am very excited. I've gained some experience yet I foresee a big, big one on Sunday. To be part of such a game, it's all or nothing. Victory means reaching the final, defeat means elimination. I feel all elements converge for an outstanding match.

Opposition Manager

The experienced boss: The stand-in manager has been reflecting this week regarding his initial encounter against Rangers two and a half decades past, the famous 6-2 demolition.

Certainly, matching that achievement may prove quite arduous, scoring six goals against those opponents. I'd settle for a really lousy 1-0 victory if we could get it. Various individuals tell me and mention to me: 'That was a great game', and they weren't even born. They inform me their family members were talking about it. It transformed into a crucial game for our club, not just that season, but likely for future progress.

The tension for nearly 72 hours prior to the match, and then if you got the result, tremendous relief. And I think that's what the legendary Walter Smith used to say about it as well, that relief outweighed other emotions. But they were fantastic fixtures really. It remains a wonderful encounter.

This is a big game for our club. Really, don't disguise that at all. It's a semi-final encounter, it's a crucial contest for our side. Any Celtic-Rangers game constitutes a significant occasion, but particularly given the conditions of the recent days, if not weeks, certainly.

Managerial Experience

Two fresh managers leading their teams today though there's a significant difference in Old Firm experience between them. Danny Röhl encounters his inaugural as Rangers manager while Martin O'Neill gets ready to manage his 28th such match.

Today's result may substantially affect on the duration O'Neill's comeback as stand-in Celtic coach lasts, as Ewan Murray has reflected.

Celtic could pay substantial compensation to lure Kieran McKenna from Ipswich. They might consider a larger risk on Robbie Keane. The Scottish champions might choose to offer Club Brugge manager Nicky Hayen an initial experience of British football. These are all gambles to varying degrees. More than O'Neill? This is arguable.

First XIs

Celtic (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 features instead of Kieran Tierney on the left defensive flank. James Forrest is additionally excluded from the starting lineup that defeated Falkirk in midweek.

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

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

James Tavernier receives preference instead of Max Aarons in the right flank position, featuring Mohamed Diomande for the suspended Connor Barron in the middle and Thelo Aasgaard preferred over Mikey Moore in offensive positions.

Preamble

Good afternoon and welcome to this Old Firm clash. It's got to be better {than last time|compared to the previous meeting|versus