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The squads take the field into the noise, Hampden separated evenly with blue and green sections. For the right to face St Mirren FC at this venue next month … the action begins.

Other Football

More matches: John Brewin offers real-time commentary for West Ham v Newcastle in the Premier League; Yara El-Shaboury brings the newest developments from the early kick-offs in the WSL.

Regarding our coverage, approximately five minutes remain before the game begins at Hampden Park!

Officiating Team

Nick Walsh is the man in the middle today. He also refereed the 2024 cup final featuring these two rivals and a continental game in the last term where he showed four red cards and a dozen bookings. Avoid challenging him.

Coaching Perspectives

The Rangers manager: Despite this being his debut in this fixture, the new Rangers manager has made it clear recently that he's accustomed to being involved in other major rivalries during his managerial journey, at Bayern Munich plus his stint at Wednesday.

I can remember when Hansi Flick took over, our subsequent fixture was versus Dortmund at home. We won 4-0. It is always a booster following success in these encounters. As well, in the Championship in the Steel derby, I was also part [of it] there. I understand the significance for the fans. This is more than just a game.

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

I have tremendous respect for such a managerial journey. I consider it consistently remarkable in this profession when you sustain your career over decades in this field and accomplish your objectives.

I am just at the beginning my coaching path. I have a lot of work to do to achieve similar status however the positive aspect we start at 0-0, separate eras and we'll discover what we can contribute with our teams in this fixture.

I am very excited. I've gained some experience though I anticipate an enormous event during Sunday's match. To participate in such a match, everything is at stake. Victory means reaching the final, defeat means elimination. I think everything is on for a great, great game.

Opposition Manager

The Celtic manager: The temporary Celtic boss has this week been reminiscing concerning his debut match against Rangers 25 years ago, the 6-2 'Demolition Derby'.

Certainly, matching that achievement might be extremely difficult, scoring six goals against that side. I would accept a really lousy 1-0 victory if we could get it. Certain supporters approach and inform me: 'That was a great game', though they weren't alive then. They inform me their family members discussed it frequently. It transformed into a crucial game for our club, not just that season, but probably for continuing on.

The anxiety for approximately three days prior to the match, and subsequently if you achieved victory, a great relief. And I feel that's precisely the renowned Walter Smith often mentioned too, that it was relief more than anything else. But they were fantastic fixtures truly. It's still a fantastic fixture.

This is a big game for our team. Truthfully, don't hide that reality. It's a semi-final encounter, it's a crucial contest for our side. Each encounter between these rivals constitutes a significant occasion, however specifically because of the conditions of recent times, possibly even months, certainly.

Dugout History

Two new managers on the sidelines this afternoon though there's a significant difference in Old Firm experience between them. Danny Röhl faces his debut as the Rangers boss while Martin O'Neill gets ready to manage of his 28th.

Today's result might significantly influence on how long O'Neill's comeback as temporary Celtic manager lasts, as Ewan Murray has considered.

Celtic could pay £5m in compensation to coax Kieran McKenna from Ipswich. They could take a more significant chance with Robbie Keane. The title holders could decide to provide Nicky Hayen from Club Brugge a debut opportunity of British football. These represent risks in different manners. Even more than O'Neill? This remains questionable.

Starting Lineups

Celtic (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 also drops out of the XI that defeated Falkirk in midweek.

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

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

James Tavernier gets the nod ahead of Max Aarons on the right, including Mohamed Diomande replacing the banned Connor Barron in the middle with Thelo Aasgaard favored over Mikey Moore in attack.

Opening Context

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