Celtic aims to regain momentum against Rangers in derby clash

Two losses in eight days will do strange things to a team sitting top of the table. Celtic enters Sunday’s Old Firm derby against Rangers at Celtic Park having won six from six in the Scottish Premiership, yet carrying the weight of a 3-0 League Cup quarter-final defeat to these same opponents just seven days earlier, plus a 3-1 home reverse against Ferencvaros in the Europa League.

Kick-off is scheduled for 12:00 BST on September 20.

What’s actually at stake

Celtic currently leads the Premiership table with 18 points from six matches and a goal difference of plus 11. Rangers sit third with 13 points from the same number of games. That five-point gap sounds comfortable until you do the simple arithmetic: a Celtic win pushes the lead to eight points, a Rangers win cuts it to two.

Celtic is also chasing its 14th consecutive league victory, which would represent the club’s longest winning streak in the Premiership since 2017.

For Rangers and their manager Derek McInnes, the stakes carry a different kind of historical weight. McInnes won his first Old Firm derby in charge last week in the League Cup. Win this one too, and he becomes only the second Rangers manager to win his opening two Old Firm derbies, joining Graeme Souness, who achieved the feat back in 1986.

The recent form picture

Celtic’s home record in Premiership derbies is the strongest argument in their favor. They have won six of the last eight home league meetings against Rangers, losing just two.

The complication is that the 3-0 defeat last week was not a narrow, unlucky loss. It was a statement result, the kind that shifts momentum in a rivalry and gives the winning side a confidence baseline to build from. Rangers will arrive at Celtic Park knowing they already have the psychological edge of a recent heavy win over this exact opponent.

The rivalry in context

The Old Firm derby between Celtic and Rangers is one of the oldest and most intense club rivalries in world football, carrying historical, cultural, and religious dimensions that extend well beyond the 90 minutes played on any given Saturday or Sunday.

Rangers’ third-place position and 13-point tally suggest they have not been consistent enough across all fixtures, but the League Cup win showed they retain the ability to produce high-quality performances in the matches that matter most. A win at Celtic Park would not only cut the gap at the top to two points but send a signal to the rest of the Premiership that Rangers are title contenders rather than also-rans.

Celtic’s six wins from six in the Premiership remain the statistical backbone of their position. A team does not build an 11-goal positive difference by accident. Losing the League Cup quarter-final hurts, but it does not end Celtic’s season. Losing ground in the Premiership to Rangers, particularly at home, would be a different kind of problem entirely.