Celtic face Rangers for the 448th time when the Old Firm rivals contest Sunday’s Scottish League Cup semifinal at Hampden Park.
Rarely during their illustrious histories can the two Glasgow giants have met at such a collective low. Since August’s drab 0-0 draw at Ibrox, Rangers have sacked Russell Martin as manager and Brendan Rodgers left Parkhead in acrimonious circumstances.
Former Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl has overseen an uptick ahead of his first experience of the Old Firm, with back-to-back wins over Kilmarnock and Hibernian this week.
Celtic interim manager Martin O’Neill has plenty of experience of this fixture following his decorated tenure at Celtic Park two decades ago. The veteran tactician returned to the dugout with a 4-0 midweek triumph over Falkirk.
The winners will face St Mirren in the final after Stephen Robinson’s side hammered Motherwell 4-1 in Saturday’s semi.
JUMP TO: Highlights and key events | Where to watch | Head to head
Celtic vs. Rangers score
| 2nd Half | Goalscorers | |
| Celtic | 1 | Kenny 25′ |
| Rangers | 0 |
Starting lineups:
Celtic (4-2-3-1 right to left) Schmeichel (GK) — Ralston, Trusty, Scales, Saracchi — Engels, McGregor — Maeda, Nygren, Tounekti — Kenny
Rangers (3-4-2-1, right to left): Butland (GK) — Djiga, Souttar, Cornelius — Tavernier, Diomande, Raskin, Meghoma — Danilo, Aasgaard — Chermiti
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
Celtic vs. Rangers highlights, key events
64 mins: Fabulous save from Butland to keep Rangers in it. The former England goalkeeper shows superb reflexes to get down and stop Nygren’s header. Ralston’s follow-up is straight at the Rangers No. 1.
Halftime
Martin O’Neill right back in the Old Firm saddle. What’s all the fuss about? Rangers wandered through a half of self-sabotage there, from which there really should be no coming back.
38 mins: RED CARD! Thelo Aasgaard!!!!!
Oh goodness me, what are you doing? Aasgaard goes in studs first on Ralston and catches him, well, in about the most painful place a man can imagine being walloped with a studded boot. Just an outrageous headloss, an obvious red card and Rangers have a mountain to climb.
It’s a red card for Thelo Aasgaard! 🟥
Rangers are now a goal and a man down against Celtic 😬#PremierSportsCup pic.twitter.com/WyBkjlx5kk
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) November 2, 2025
25 mins: GOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!! Johnny Kenny!!!!!
Rangers do not make the most of their let off as Kenny gives Celtic the lead with a superb header at the near post from Engels’ corner. A few moments earlier, Kenny was on the end of a robust derby day challenge from Cornelius. Apparently he’s just fine.
A bullet header from Johnny Kenny has @CelticFC in the lead against Rangers! 🍀
“What a header that is!” 🗣️#PremierSportsCup | @spfl pic.twitter.com/XNEWGaEWUn
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) November 2, 2025
21 mins: NO GOAL! VAR OFFSIDE!
Replays show that Maeda was fractionally offside in the build-up. That’s both a huge let-off for Rangers and a huge blow for fans of comedy viral football moments.
19 mins: GOAL! CALAMITY FOR RANGERS!
Oh dear, oh dear. Nasser Djiga clatters a clearance his team-mate Nico Raskin and it loops into the Rangers net. Oh, hang on, there might be a reprieve.
A bizarre Nico Raskin own goal seemed to have given Celtic the lead, but VAR intervenes ❌
That looked like an incredibly close offside call 👀😮#PremierSportsCup pic.twitter.com/G5tIYwTipQ
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) November 2, 2025
Kickoff: 1st Half
The 448th Old Firm game is underway. Who will claim the bragging rights and join St Mirren in the League Cup final?
“Unbelievable…even by Glasgow’s standards!” 🎙️
It’s time for a derby like no other and with a cup final spot up for grabs as Celtic and Rangers take to the Hampden pitch 🙌#PremierSportsCup pic.twitter.com/CGwgWUfGLP
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) November 2, 2025
Celtic vs. Rangers lineups, team news
Celtic are dealing with a few headaches on the injury front. Alistair Johnston’s hamstring issue flared up again during the clash with Sturm Graz, ruling him out of contention.
Long-term absentees Cameron Carter-Vickers and Jota remain sidelined, the former recovering from Achilles surgery and the latter still rehabilitating from a serious ACL injury.
There is, however, some good news for the Hoops. Daizen Maeda returns to the starting lineup, while Kieran Tierney is among the substitutes.
Celtic starting XI (4-2-3-1 right to left) Schmeichel (GK) — Ralston, Trusty, Scales, Saracchi — Engels, McGregor — Maeda, Nygren, Tounekti — Kenny
Celtic subs: Sinisalo, Yang, McCowan, Osmond, Hatate, Murray, Balikwisha, Forrest, Tierney.
Rohl has made a smooth start at Ibrox, implementing a back-three system that’s brought both balance and belief to his side, and he’s expected to stick with the same setup here.
The Light Blues head into the clash with a near full-strength squad, with only Dujon Sterling and Rabbi Matondo unavailable.
Danilo’s early exit against Hibernian was purely precautionary, according to Rohl, meaning he should be ready to lead the line here.
Rangers starting XI (3-4-2-1, right to left): Butland (GK) — Djiga, Souttar, Cornelius — Tavernier, Diomande, Raskin, Meghoma — Danilo, Aasgaard — Chermiti
Rangers subs: Kelly, Aarons, Fernandez, Rothwell, Antman, Moore, Gassama, Curtis, Miovski.
Celtic vs. Rangers stats, head to head
These teams met 447 times in all competitions, and yet, there is only one win to separate them.
| Rangers wins | Draws | Celtic wins |
| 171 | 106 | 170 |
| Biggest win: 5-0 (September, 1893) |
Biggest win: 7-1 (October, 1957) |
MORE: All-time trophies, games won between Old Firm rivals
Celtic vs. Rangers live stream, TV channel
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| USA | CBS Sports Network | Fubo, Paramount+, |
| Canada | — | — |
| UK | Premier Sports 1 | Premier Sports Player |
| Australia | beIN Sports 2 | beIN Sports Connect |
| India | — | — |
