Updates from Old Firm derby, midday kickoff (BST)
Here comes You’ll Never Walk Alone. Who sang it first? Does it matter? Watch footage from the 1970s and early 1980s and fans of many clubs sing it. It is, though, the song of both Liverpool and Celtic.
This is the 450th meeting of the two teams, and they are on 174 wins each.
Derek McInnes spoke to the BBC: “I know Celtic have made a load of changes. A lot was made of last week, us having won the battle through the middle of the park, they’ve filled the middle of the pitch today. We just need to make sure that we still try and compete in there, that middle ground is important for us to win.”
O’Neill has replaced Sam Johnstone with Viljami Sinisalo in Celtic’s goal. This is the explanation, Johnstone having played against Rangers last weel: “I feel that with Sam coming newly into the football club, and not having played for some time, I thought that the two games that he played, it would give him experience of the Old Firm game for a start.”
As the Sky pundits suggest, he favours Sinisalo.
Is it three at the back? Martin O’Neill, as ever, keeps it mercurial. “We’ve got the options for both - but I’m not sure we’re going to play three or five [at the back]. You’ll find out in about an hour’s time. For years I played three at the back with two wide players. But this is not exactly that system today.”
Derek McInnes also spoke to Sky: “Just because you win the game doesn’t mean it always says you’ve got the tactics right and, equally, when you lose a game, it doesn’t mean it says you’ve got them wrong.
“sometimes tactics can get a wee bit overplayed. I do think you normally win games during the individual moments and the performance of players being high and strong. We look to do something similar in terms of our approach. We want to make sure the aggression’s there, the confidence is there to play.
“The energy that we displayed last week, these are all the things that are more important than tactics. Hopefully the players go into the game and onto the pitch with that message loud and clear that a big performance is required. You don’t win at Celtic Park unless everybody plays well. We’ve got to try and bring something similar and look for those improvements again.”
Martin O"Neill had the following to say to Sky ahead of the game: “We’re far from rock bottom. We’re still in the lead and if we could win this, we can extend the lead and if we don’t, even by the international break, we’re still going to be in front.
“We’re going to try and put that right if we can. But I know the last time we had an international break was in March time and we played poorly against Dundee United. So that was, if you can call it a wake-up call or a moment of quiet reflection or whatever the case may be. We turned it round. The players are capable of turning it round.
“It’s a big game, whether it’s played in September or March time. We need to be up for the game. Do we need to win the game? It would be nice to win it, it wouldn’t be great if we lost. That would be three on the trot. Psychologically, it would be a blow. But we need to be up for it.”
Derek McInnes has picked the same starting team from last week’s win at Ibrox. Celtic look to have gone three at the back – the formation that O’Neill had success with first time around at Celtic. Auston Trusty lines up alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales. Kasper Hogh, Haissem Hassan, Oliver Sorensen, and James Forrest are the four players dropped.
Celtic: Sinisalo, Trusty, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Donovan, Baur, McGregor, Tierney, McCowan, Duran, Nygren. Subs: Johnstone, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Hogh, Tounekti, Hassan, Mheuka, Murray, Forrest, Ralston.
Rangers: Pandur, Sterling, Fernandez, Makhanya, Penrice, Kim, Neil, Raskin, Gassama, Naderi, Kelsy. Subs: Kelly, McCrorie, Godfrey, Dragojevic, Devlin, Chukwuani, Curtis, Bouanani, Miovski.
Rangers are out of Europe after losing their playoffs for the Europa League and Conference League, but their fans may well have enjoyed watching the Europa League this week.
Against a backdrop of bouncing techno from the tannoy, Rangers fans celebrated three memorable goals in a thumping League Cup win. A brace for the captain, Dan Neil, bookended Kevin Kelsy’s second‑half finish to put Martin O’Neill’s side down with relative ease. It also showcased a nascent identity for McInnes’s side, one defined by unbending physical commitment and lots and lots of sprinting. The quality of the football may have been patchy, but the commitment was enough to get the 51,212 home fans at the top of their voices.
Another week, another Old Firm/Glasgow derby match. Though the next one isn’t scheduled until 3 January. Rangers won last week, and should they win at Parkhead it could blow open the title race. Hearts divide both teams at the moment in the table, and a bad week for Celtic would be completed by losing to their eternal rivals. Derek McInnes was bought time and credibility by beating Celtic in the League Cup while Martin O’Neill was in cantankerous form before and after the Europa League defeat to Ferencvaros. So, plenty to play for, though there’s always plenty to play for.
Kick-off high noon, Glasgow time. Join me.