The Big Question: Can McInnes’s Home Crowd Carry Rangers Past a Perfect Celtic?
Rangers host Celtic on Sunday in a Scottish League Cup (Premier Sports Cup) quarter-final at Ibrox Stadium, with a place in the semi-finals at Hampden on the line in the first Old Firm derby of the season. Kickoff is 12:00 BST (7:00 a.m. ET), and no away fans will be present, continuing the away-fan ban imposed across all SPFL Old Firm fixtures this season. Both sides arrive in good form: Derek McInnes’s Rangers have won four straight across competitions after a rocky start, while Martin O’Neill’s Celtic are perfect through six domestic matches and sit clear at the top of the Premiership. This is also just the first of two Old Firm meetings in a week — the Premiership fixture at Celtic Park follows next Sunday — with the League Cup semi-final draw set to take place immediately after this match, with ties scheduled for October 31 and November 1.
Rangers Team News
McInnes faces significant attacking absences. Captain Lawrence Shankland is out for up to four months with a hamstring tear that required surgery, while Youssef Chermiti remains sidelined long-term after an ACL injury. Winger Daisuke Yokota needs groin surgery and faces two to three months out, left-back Tuur Rommens continues recovering from a groin issue, and Kosta Nedeljkovic is also out with a foot injury.
Despite the injury list, Rangers have found real form, winning their last three matches 1-0 and keeping three clean sheets in four games. With Shankland and Yokota both unavailable, Kevin Kelsy and Kim Min-Su are tipped to lead the line, with Bojan Miovski and Vanja Dragojević — the club’s £8 million winter signing — more likely used as impact options from the bench. Nicolas Raskin remains a key midfield presence, with wide players like Badredine Bouanani and Djeidi Gassama likely involved.
Celtic Team News
Martin O’Neill will be missing five first-team players: right-back Alistair Johnston (hamstring), Jota (still working back from ACL surgery), Callum Osmand (ankle), Landon Emenalo, and Yang Hyun-jun, on Asian Games duty with South Korea. Camilo Durán should be fit to return after being rested midweek, and goalkeeper Sam Johnstone is fighting to keep his starting spot ahead of Viljami Sinisalo.
Callum McGregor will anchor midfield, with options including Mika Baur, Benjamin Nygren, and Haissem Hassan supporting further forward. Celtic’s domestic form has been excellent all season, and they’ll look to extend that dominance into a fixture they’ve generally controlled in recent meetings.
Confirmed Lineups
Confirmed starting XIs (to be updated when announced):
(Expect Rangers in a system built around Kelsy and Min-Su up top, with Celtic likely fielding Durán or a similar option through the middle — official lineups will appear here once released.)
How and Where to Watch
| Country | TV / Streaming |
|---|---|
| USA | Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo |
| UK | Premier Sports 1 |
| Australia | beIN Sports 1 |
The Old Firm never needs extra billing, but this League Cup quarter-final carries genuine knockout edge, made sharper by the fact these two will do it all again in a week. Rangers will look to turn Ibrox into a fortress and take a real step toward silverware; Celtic aim to keep their perfect domestic record intact and book another Hampden date. Expect intensity, set-piece battles, and individual quality deciding a tight contest.
How To Watch Rangers vs Celtic League Cup: Team News, Lineups & TV