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The squads take the field amid the roar, Hampden Park separated evenly with blue and green sections. For the opportunity to face St Mirren at this venue this December … here we go.

Additional Fixtures

More matches: John Brewin is on our minute-by-minute coverage for West Ham vs Newcastle in England's top flight; Yara El-Shaboury delivers fresh updates from the initial games in the Women's Super League.

Regarding our coverage, there's just over five minutes until kick-off at Hampden!

Officiating Team

Nick Walsh is the man in the middle this afternoon. He also refereed the 2024 Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Rangers plus a European fixture in the last term where he showed four sending-offs and 12 yellows. Avoid challenging him.

Dugout Views

Danny Röhl: Although this marks his initial Old Firm, the fresh-faced gaffer has made it clear in recent days that he's accustomed to being involved in other important local clashes during his managerial journey, at Bayern Munich plus his stint at Wednesday.

I recollect when Hansi Flick took over, our following match took place against Dortmund at our stadium. We secured a 4-0 victory. It is always a booster following success in these encounters. Furthermore, in the Championship during the Steel City derby, I was also part [of it] there. I recognize the importance for the fans. This represents more than a simple match.

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

I feel a big respect for such a coaching career. I think it is always great as a manager when you sustain your career over decades in this business and accomplish your objectives.

I'm only starting out my professional journey. I have a lot of work to do to reach that level however the positive aspect we begin level, separate eras and we'll observe what we can contribute through our squads in this fixture.

I am very excited. I've accumulated certain experiences though I anticipate a massive occasion on Sunday. To be involved in this fixture, the stakes are extremely high. Victory means reaching the final, a loss ends your participation. I think everything is on for an outstanding match.

Opposition Manager

The Celtic manager: The temporary Celtic boss has this week been reminiscing about his first meeting against Rangers a quarter-century ago, the memorable 6-2 victory.

Now, repeating that performance could be very challenging, scoring six goals against that side. I would accept a scrappy single-goal triumph if we could get it. Certain supporters approach and inform me: 'That was a fantastic encounter', despite not being born at the time. They inform me their ancestors and parents were talking about it. It evolved into a decisive encounter for our club, not only during that campaign, but likely for future progress.

The tension for nearly 72 hours beforehand, and then should you secure success, significant comfort. And I feel that's precisely the great Walter Smith frequently stated similarly, that relief outweighed other emotions. But they were fantastic fixtures really. It continues to be a superb rivalry.

This constitutes a significant fixture for us. Really, don't disguise that at all. It's a semi-final encounter, it's an important game for us. Each encounter between these rivals represents a major event, but particularly given the conditions of the past few days, possibly even months, certainly.

Managerial Experience

Two different coaches in the dugouts today yet there's a substantial disparity in derby experience separating them. Danny Röhl faces his debut as Rangers manager whereas Martin O'Neill prepares to oversee of his 28th.

The outcome today might significantly influence regarding the tenure O'Neill's return as (interim, for now) Celtic boss persists, as Ewan Murray has been pondering.

They could potentially invest five million pounds in compensation to persuade Kieran McKenna away from Ipswich. They might consider a more significant chance involving Robbie Keane. The Scottish champions might choose to offer Club Brugge manager Nicky Hayen an initial experience within British soccer. These are all gambles in different manners. Even more than O'Neill? This remains questionable.

Team Selections

Celtic FC (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Ralston, Trusty, Scales, Sarrachi; McGregor, Engels, Nygren; Maeda, Kenny, Tounekti.

Reserves: Sinisalo, Balikwisha, Yang, Osmand, McCowan, Hatate, Murray, Forrest, Tierney.

Marcelo Sarrachi begins ahead of Kieran Tierney at left-back. James Forrest is additionally excluded from the starting lineup that defeated Falkirk during the week.

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

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

James Tavernier gets the nod ahead of Max Aarons on the right side, including Mohamed Diomande taking Connor Barron's suspended place in midfield with Thelo Aasgaard favored over Mikey Moore in forward roles.

Preamble

Good afternoon and welcome to this Old Firm clash. It should be improved {than last time|compared to the previous meeting|versus